


Threads: Jeff and Annie

by Kervia



Series: Threads [1]
Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst and Drama, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Baby Fic, Domestic Fluff, Drama, Drama & Romance, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family, Family Drama, Family Fluff, Fantasy, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Kid Fic, May/December Relationship, Pregnancy, Pregnant Sex, Rating May Change, Romance, Romantic Angst, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Gestures, Romantic Soulmates, Romantic Tension, Slow Burn, Slow Dancing, Slow Romance, Tags May Change, Unplanned Pregnancy, Warnings May Change, romantic fantasy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 73,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25749073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kervia/pseuds/Kervia
Summary: Everyone has different threads that bind them to people in their lives. Upon first meeting someone, a specifically colored thread appears between the two people, tightens/solidifies, and glows. Once it has, then it fades. The threads can be walked through by those not affected, but those who are, are frozen, unable to move or speak.Colors And Meanings of Threads:Gold- Soulmate/DestinyRed- ParentTurquoise- AcquaintanceBlack- FriendPurple- Love InterestOrange- EnemySilver- Sexual ChemistryBlue- Dangerous (Physically/Spiritually/Mentally, etc.)Green- FamilyWhite- ChildJeff spent most of his 20’s and the beginning of his 30’s chasing every woman who caused a silver thread to manifest from his chest to their own, knowing that meant the sex with them would be good. And the absence of a gold or purple thread—or blue—meant that neither of them expected anything more. And things were going perfectly until he met... her.Annie Edison.The only woman in the world who was a gold, black, silver, and purple thread.What. The. Hell?
Relationships: Abed Nadir & Jeff Winger, Abed Nadir/Rachel (Community), Andre Bennett/Shirley Bennett (mentioned), Annie Edison & Abed Nadir, Annie Edison & Britta Perry, Annie Edison/Jeff Winger, Britta Perry/Jeff Winger (mentioned), Ian Duncan & Jeff Winger, Ian Duncan/Original Female Character(s), Jeff Winger & the Study Group, Jeff Winger/Original Female Character (mentioned), Michelle Slater/Jeff Winger (mentioned, Shirley Bennett & Annie Edison & Abed Nadir & Britta Perry & Jeff Winger, Shirley Bennett & Jeff Winger, Shirley Bennett/Detective Butcher, Troy Barnes & Abed Nadir, Troy Barnes & Annie Edison, Troy Barnes & Annie Edison & Abed Nadir, Troy Barnes/Britta Perry, Vicki Cooper/Neil (Community)
Series: Threads [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1867819
Comments: 93
Kudos: 114





	1. The Girl With The Purple, Black, Silver, And Gold Threads

**Author's Note:**

> This is the fourth story I will be updating weekly. It will be posted every Wednesday/Thursday. This one is a little different. Not really magic, but definitely fantasy-like. It's going to go through the whole show and beyond, but take a twist on certain interactions and episodes because of the laws of this particular universe. You'll see.

**The Girl With The Purple, Black, Silver, And Gold Threads**

At the dawn of time, the Creators: Three Supreme Beings, One male, one female, one being whose gender could not be determined, came together to create the multiverses. There were six different universes, and each creator presided over two.

On one universe, humans, paranormals, and aliens existed with complete knowledge of each other. It was a universe of extreme knowledge, overwhelming compassion and understanding, beauty that assaulted the senses, and where love abounded. There was very little war, and every inhabitant on all the planets lived in what could only be defined as an Utopia.

On another, there were no humans, only paranormals. They were separated by species type, wolf shifters on Earth, vampires on Neptune, Lion shifters on Mars, etc. The planets were very primal, controlled by very animalistic rules. Though there seemed to be no human strengths: such as rationalization, jealousy, or rage, their ability to love could not be faulted, as was their sense of community.

And yet, there was one universe, in which there were only three planets, all of which seemed to be restricted by certain rules.

The rule of **the threads.**

In this universe, relationships were determined by threads which could be seen only by the people affected. They varied in color, and the closer the people affected, the more solid and strong the thread. The turquoise threads of acquaintances were thin, easily frayed, and easily broken. While those of friendship, of family, and those between a parent and child were stronger, hard to break. But the threads of soulmates, those who were destined to be together, whether as lovers, or friends, or family, could never be broken.

And so it was that many of those who lived in this universe spent their lives looking for their **golden** threads. The threads that connected two or more people to their soulmate. To their destiny. Whether that person was destined to be their child. Destined to be their friend.

Destined to be their love.

But there were those who endured and survived **blue** thread relationships. Ones that were dangerous to one or both people. Whether they were dangerous physically, mentally, emotionally, or sexually. After encountering, enduring, and sometimes surviving those relationships, the survivors would then go and live their lives _avoiding_ golden threads. One of those people?

**_Jeffrey Tobias Winger._ **

* * * *

Jeffrey Winger spent most of his 20’s and the beginning of his 30’s chasing every woman who caused a **silver** thread to manifest from his chest to their own, knowing that meant the sex with them would be good. And the absence of a **gold** or **purple** thread—or **blue** —meant that neither of them expected anything more. And things were going perfectly until he met... her.

_Annie Edison._

The only woman in the world who was a **_gold, black, silver_ ** , and **_purple_ **thread for him.

What. The. Hell?

How could _one_ person be his soulmate, his friend, a love interest, and someone he was sexually compatible with? That would make her the _perfect woman_.

And that just wasn’t something that Jeff believed in.

Even if the threads proved otherwise.

He would just have to avoid Annie for the rest of his life.

Something that was easier said than done. Because the first time they met, the threads appeared, connected them, caused them to freeze, and while the rest of life went on, their inability to move was noticed by the one person who seemed unable to have any threads with most people.

_Abed Nadir._

* * * *

It was the Fall semester 2009, and Jeffrey Winger found himself standing in the middle of the quad, glancing around, but never catching anyone’s gaze. He didn’t want to be frozen in the middle of the school while the Creators showed him that no one around him was anyone of any permanence to him. He’d lived over 30- _something_ years, and had very few threads. Lots of turquoise threads, some attached to silver, but besides his mother, and his father--whose thread had frayed and eventually disappeared when he was eight--Jeffrey Tobias Winger went out of his way to make sure he wasn’t attached to anyone by a thread they could follow back to him.

He headed into his Spanish class, winking at a few women who had silver threads, before he stepped into the room and headed to the back to take his seat. But as he took a few steps, he made the mistake of glancing up, his gaze colliding and connecting with the gorgeous brunette who sat in the front row. He’d only known her as the _nerd_ who always raised her hand, and spent a lot of time answering every question asked. And unfortunately, the minute their eyes connected…

 **_Silver_ ** ( _Yeeessss……)_

 **_Black_ ** _(One could never have too many friends…..)_

 **_Purple_ ** _(What?! No one besides his mother loved him, some young girl who didn’t even know what love was couldn’t possibly…)_

 **_Gold_ ** _(Holy. Fuck. No. Way. No. No. No. No…..)_

He had every intention of making a run for it, but good ol’ Abed, who had become his somewhat reluctant… friend, after Jeff had only asked him what time it was, had noticed everything. While the “Thread Connection” only took a few seconds, it was enough for the abnormal man.

The minute the connection was complete, Jeff was speechless, for the first time in his life. Having the young girl’s eyes trained on him, those big blue eyes shining with nervous anticipation and confusion, made Jeff’s heart thunder in his chest and his palms grow damp.

“Jeff and Annie made a connection!” Abed announced to the class.

Every eye turned to look at him and Annie, and Jeff opened his mouth and closed it, with no sound coming out.

“What kind of connection could that grown man have with that little girl?” the black woman who, for some reason, looked vaguely familiar, spoke up from where she sat in the middle of the classroom.

_Someone made a mistake. It has to be a mistake._

“Purple, black, silver, and gold?” The girl, Annie, the one who had rocked his world merely by looking at him, muttered in a dazed voice.

“You guys were what?!” The hot blonde girl, he’d had every intention of trying to hook up with, what with them having an unique light silver thread, said. _Sexually compatible, but barely._ She narrowed her eyes at him, and for some reason Jeff felt ashamed.

_We haven’t even spoken to each other before!_

“Hey! You! Old guy! Christopher Pratt if he gave up?” Their Spanish teacher, a short, Asian man, what was his name? Oh that’s right _Senor Chang_ , pointed at Jeff, snapping his fingers. “Siéntate!”

Jeff frowned, his eyebrows lowering in confusion.

“He means sit down,” the young brunette… _Annie_ , whispered over to him.

Jeff nodded and headed for his seat in the back, his legs feeling heaving, his chest tight, his skin hot, and his heart… it was pounding, but not with dread, with a feeling he hadn’t felt since his father left him and his mother when he was a kid…

 **_Hope_ **.

 _What. The. Hell_?


	2. Milord & Milady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie and Jeff talk, and their threads get thicker, and stronger...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for posting so late. So to make up for it, you get TWO chapters! I hope you enjoy.  
> Also, things are not going to be completely canon after the second of today's upload. Certain things will still be in line with the seasons and episodes, but others will have a different slant to them, in accordance with this AU world.
> 
> Thank you all so much for your comments, kudos, and tweaks/suggestions. They are so greatly appreciated!
> 
> *Also, I do not own the characters of Community. They belong to Dan Harmon, but any original characters, and names are of my own creation, as well as the universe this takes place in.*

** Milord & Milady **

When Annie Edison was four years old, she had her first stress headache. Many people thought it was due to the pressure that her parents put on her to succeed, and her intense need to make sure everything was perfect and to make them happy, but that wasn’t why.

At the age of four, Annie saw the moment that her threads with her family began to fray.

She wasn’t exactly sure why they had, and had, in fact, gone upstairs to her room to try and figure it out, but by the time she was fifteen, on the road to being her school’s valedictorian, and completely on track to becoming a hospital administrator--addiction to Adderall, notwithstanding--the threads between her and her father had disappeared, the thread--yes, only one--between her and her mother had faded and frayed to the point that it was almost nonexistent. Threads between her and her classmates were barely turquoise, and the ones which had existed between her and her former boyfriend, Dale, shook and frayed whenever they were near each other. And the threads she’d hoped to have with Troy Barnes, the big quarterback of the high school football team, never actually developed. Mostly because he never actually  _ looked _ at her until the night she ran out of a senior party, screaming about robots, having overdosed on Adderall.

So, the day her eyes met those of Jeff Winger, the…  _ older _ guy in her community college Spanish class, she’d been stunned at the sight of the  **silver, black, purple,** and  **gold** threads that appeared between them. Bold, strong, thick, and bright.

_ Holy. Crap. _

She was stunned. Was that even possible?

She wasn’t able to even think through the meaning of it all, before Abed Nadir, the half-Pakistani, pop-culture genius, announced to the entire class that she and Jeff had made a connection. It caused a stir, as did her unknowingly speaking exactly what color their threads were. How was this even possible?

So later that day, when Abed invited her to join a Spanish study group, she’d answered with a sort of dazed “yes.” But, when Jeff walked into the room, all of the friendly conversation that had been taking place between all of them ground to a halt.

“Hmph,” Shirley grunted judgementally, looking back and forth between Annie and Jeff.

Annie’s face flushed hot, and she brushed her hair behind her ear, as she tried not to look over at the man who was her…  _ destiny _ .

_ How was that even possible? _

“Where’s Britta?”

Annie’s head jerked up at Jeff’s words and she frowned at him. She was somewhat stunned by the feeling of her heart clenching in her chest. It wasn’t exactly broken, but…

“She’s not here,” Abed answered.

“I don’t know why he’s looking for Britta, she said the silver thread between them was so light, it was almost invisible,” Shirley murmured softly, but not so soft that it wasn’t heard by all of them.

Though no one responded, Annie felt her skin get hotter with embarrassment.

Jeff cleared his throat, and grabbed his books and jackets, before mumbling something about having to leave and walking out of the study room.

Annie let her head drop forward, and made sure that her hair covered her face. She could feel the looks of sympathy and pity coming from everyone seated at the table, and she just couldn’t deal with it.

_ It’s like being back in rehab. _

When Britta and Jeff returned to the room, neither of them were smiling, and though Annie didn’t want to, she found herself narrowing her eyes. Had their threads changed? Was Jeff no longer her destiny?

She opened her mouth to say…  _ something _ , but stopped when she felt Shirley’s hand on her forearm. Annie looked over at the older woman with a look of confusion on her face.

“Uh-uh, honey. He’s the type of man that thrives on knowing he has women begging to be with him,” Shirley muttered so softly to Annie, that she had to lean over to hear her.

_ So she can talk softly, just whenever it suits her. _

“You need to treat him exactly as he’s been treating you. You both saw those threads. He knows who you are to him. He knows that you know. But that’s not set in stone. You need to make sure you show him that you know that as well as he does,” Shirley advised her.

Annie took a deep breath and nodded, even as her mind whirled with confusion and amazement.  _ Were there really people out there who ignored their threads with others? Who ignored a  _ **_gold_ ** _ thread? For that much, who ignored a  _ **_purple_ ** _ one? We all need love. And isn’t knowing that someone is destined to love you, to accept the good and the bad, strengths and weaknesses, who you are and who you are meant to be and will become, something that should be celebrated? Embraced? _

Annie’s hands itched, and she bounced slightly in her seat, not because she was excited, but because she desperately wanted to make a list of the  _ Pros _ and  _ Cons _ of ignoring one’s threads with another. She needed to figure it out. Desperately.

But arguing had ensued. And Jeff had fixed them. Only to then disappoint them all by saying that as a lawyer it had been his job to use words and convince people to believe said words. Britta had kicked him out of the group, and later, they’d all welcomed him back…

And he never once allowed himself to look Annie in the eyes again.

Not until much, much later that night.

Everyone was heading to their cars to head home. Everyone to their cars, trucks, minivans, towncars, and Annie to her dilapidated vehicle, the only one she could afford after using her savings, cashing in her bonds and Batmitzvah checks, to pay for her new apartment above Dildopolis, pay for tuition, books, new clothes--rehab had really helped her lose a lot of weight--and other essentials, and still have enough money to make a nest egg. She’d glanced up when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. Discreetly reaching into the pocket of her sundress, she pulled out her can of mase, flicked off the tab, and turned with it lifted, ready to spray the person following her.

“Wait! Hold on, Annie! Don’t spray me!” Jeff’s hands had raised, and Annie was briefly stunned to see that he’d covered his hair, and his eyes.

_ So vain. _

Annie sighed and clicked the tab on, and replaced it back into her pocket, as she stopped and crossed her arms below her bust.

“What do you want, Jeff?” She asked.

Lowering his hands, and opening his eyes, Jeff looked at her, then cleared his throat.

“I wanted to um… talk to you about, you know… stuff,” he stammered.

Annie rolled her eyes.

“About our threads?” She queried.

Jeff nodded and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Yeah, um… about those…”

Annie tilted her head and waited. And waited. And waited. When Jeff still didn’t say anything, she gripped the straps of her backpack and started to rock up onto her toes and then back onto her heels, flexing the muscles in her calves as she did so. The repetitive motion helped her with her need to take control of the conversation, and prevented her from having a slight, um…  _ freakout _ , due to her impatience.

_ I could be studying right now. I have those Spanish tapes in my car. I could almost be home right now. I still have enough time to read through a couple of chapters, maybe do some practice tests… _

“Um… Jeff? Did you have something to say?” She asked.

Jeff cleared his throat again and nodded. But still, he didn’t speak.

“And…?”

Jeff opened his mouth and closed it, all without saying anything. He frowned, his eyes flickering back and forth as if he were stunned that he couldn’t figure out what to say, and that was unusual. Annie shook her head and sighed again.

_ Oh for heaven’s sake. _

“Did you maybe want to make sure that I knew you feel as though the threads that exist between us are simply a fluke, or maybe some kind of mistake? That there’s no way on Earth, a man like you, an older man who used to be a lawyer, could ever have the threads of love, sexual chemistry, and destiny, with a young girl like me?” She tilted her head when Jeff swallowed thickly, then nodded his head, looking sheepish.

Annie rolled her eyes, then shook her own head.

“Yeah, you know I might believe that, if only you weren’t trying so hard not to look at me right now. If only the knowledge of the threads and their meanings wasn’t something inherently known within all of us. If only it wasn’t something as normal, as natural, as based on  _ fact _ , as everyone needing a heart and a brain to live. Not everyone’s function as should be, some have smaller brains, some have issues with it, some people are born with holes in their hearts, some are born with hearts and organs on the wrong side, but the fact of the matter is, Jeff, if we are alive, if we are living and moving, breathing, talking, if we are  _ here _ , then we have hearts and brains, no matter what condition they’re in, and no matter if we have machines that function in their capacity.” She took a small step close to him, and looked  _ up _ \--way up--into his eyes.

“So too, are our threads. Everyone has them, and we all know what they mean. So you can try to deny our  **gold, silver, black,** and  **purple** if you want, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there.”

“But, you’re… and I’m…”

“Age doesn’t really matter in this, Jeff. I’m an adult. I’m sure that if I weren’t? Those threads wouldn’t have appeared for either of us.” She shook her head again, and spun on her toes to walk away. “Maybe it’s not the age thing that’s bothering you, Jeff. Maybe it’s a maturity thing? In that of the two of us, you’re the one that is immature, and not me.”

With those parting words--and feeling quite proud of herself for having spoken up for herself for the first time… ever, without the power of an Adderall confidence behind her--Annie headed over to her car, and climbed inside. She placed her backpack on the passenger seat, pulled out her car keys from the small pouch in the front of her bag, stuck them into the ignition, and pleaded with HaShem that the car would start the first time she turned the key in the ignition.

When the car started on her first try, Annie breathed a sigh of relief and offered up a prayer of thanks:

_ Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, ha-gomel l’chayavim tovot she-g’malani kol tov. _

She pulled out of her parking space and headed home, the sight of Jeff standing in the parking lot, a look of bewilderment, and grudging respect plastered on his way too handsome face.

Later that night, as Annie brushed her hair, sitting beneath the pink and white sheets on her bed, her cellphone buzzed with a text message. She barely heard it as the sound of the Dildopolis manager making an announcement over the PA system flooded her “apartment” with noise. She picked up the device, making sure she first answered the Spanish question she’d been studying ( _ De donde eres? Soy de Estados Unidos. Específicamente de Greendale, Colorado. _ ) before she focused on the screen of her phone.

**_Jeffrey Winger:_ ** _ sry 4 bng such an idiot earlyr _

Annie frowned at her phone for a moment, wondering why it had taken him so long to finally say anything, and also how he’d managed to finish high school, much less become a lawyer with such bad spelling.

**_Annie Edison:_ ** _ I understand that the reality of our… threads is a little disconcerting or upsetting to you. _

**_Jeffrey Winger:_ ** _ thats puttn it litely doe eyes. _

Annie wanted to be annoyed by the nickname he’d just given her, but she couldn’t deny the flush of happiness that rushed through her. At least not here at home by herself. She felt her lips spread in a shy smile, and she raised a hand to cover it.  _ He shouldn’t be able to affect me so easily _ , she thought to herself. Although, maybe their threads meant that they both had the power to affect the other quite easily.

**_Annie Edison:_** _So did you just text me to apologize?_

There was no response for a long time, and Annie almost put her cellphone back on her nightstand when…

**_Jeffrey Winger_ ** :  _ no i wanted 2 say ur right bout u b n the mature 1 _

Annie waited, feeling as if there were more coming, and she was glad she did when he continued.

**_Jeffrey Winger:_ ** _ my mom is only 1 who luvs me im havin hard time believin u can 2 _

Annie felt her heart break just a little reading that text--with all of its errors and “text speech”.  _ Which is merely an excuse to practice lazy grammar. _ But she put that aside as she responded to the older man who was essentially exposing his heart to her.

_ Whether he believes it or not, his messages to me just prove the threads are right. _

**_Annie Edison:_ ** _ My threads with my family don’t even exist any more, or they’re so frayed that I do all I can to stay on their good side so that they don’t break. Except my thread with my bubbe. So I understand. But rather than run from it, why not embrace the person who is destined to love you, Jeff? _

**_Jeffrey Winger:_ ** _ c u r the smart 1 of us 2 gimme sum time milady i will get there _

Annie nodded. She could understand that, because though her words said differently, she was just as confused and hesitant about this  _ thing _ between them, as he was.

**_Annie Edison:_ ** _ Of course, Milord. Time is something I can definitely give you. _

**_Jeffrey Winger:_ ** _ thx annie _

**_Annie Edison:_ ** _ But don’t take too long, Jeff.  _ **_Purple_ ** _ and  _ **_gold_ ** _ thread or not, I won’t wait forever. _

And again, there was no response for a long time, then twelve words that changed both of their lives forever.

**_Jeffrey Winger:_ ** _ yes milady i know ill try 2 grow up quik 4 u _

* * *

“That dude makes a lot of announcements,” Troy complained.

Annie’s phone vibrated in her bag, but she ignored it for the moment, her eyes instead searching out the man whom she’d been having a very…  _ private _ texting relationship with for a couple of weeks.

_ Where is Jeff? _

“I like it. It makes every ten minutes feel like the beginning of a new scene of a TV show. Of course, the illusion only lasts until someone says something that they’d never say on TV, like how much their life is like TV. There, it’s gone,” Abed stated in his classic monotone, unemotional, voice.

Annie sighed, and glanced over at Jeff’s usual seat at the study group’s table.

_ The one next to Britta _ , she thought slightly upset at the thought, as she usually was.

_ “I sit next to Britta, because the one time I tried to take a seat next to you, Shirley gave me a look of such disgust and judgement, I literally felt my blood turn to ice,” Jeff had told her, when she’d questioned him about it in the hallway on their way to class. _

_ Annie had rolled her eyes, and let out a slight huff. “You mean, figuratively, Jeff. You couldn’t have  _ literally _ felt your blood turn to ice or you would be dead.” _

_ Jeff nodded, and clutched her shoulders for a brief moment, before dropping his hands quickly when Leonard walked by and grunted at them. _

_ “Exactly, Annie. I think I died for a few moments,” he responded, giving her a look of faux-seriousness, and woundedness. It was so ridiculously pitiful, that Annie couldn’t help but smile. But only for a moment. _

_ “I just can’t help but feel a little…” She shrugged and Jeff nodded. _

_ “I know. I feel the same way every time I see you smile and simper over Troy.” _

_ They’d both stared at each other, and though neither of them said it, they were both acutely aware of the reality of their situation. _

_ Being  _ **_purple, gold, silver,_ ** _ and  _ **_black_ ** _ “threaded” was extremely difficult when neither of them were willing or ready, to make it “official.” _

“So I guess Jeff’s running late again,” Annie stated out loud, unintentionally sharing her thoughts with the rest of the group.

“Ohh, what a shame,” Britta falsely groaned, unsympathetically. “Maybe we should get started on…”

“No, no, no. I think we should wait for Jeff before we start studying,” Shirley interjected, stretching her hand across the table and tapping it in front of Britta, before she pulled her hand back, and giving Annie a look out of the corner of her eye. Annie inclined her head in a small gesture of thanks to Shirley, before she noticed the look of disappointment on Britta’s face. Realizing that while the rest of the group had made their peace with Jeff, and that, according to their various text and in-person conversations, they’d all noticed their  **black** threads of friendship getting stronger, and brighter, the tension between Britta and Jeff was still there. Though Jeff had assured Annie that the  **silver** thread between the two of them had actually grown  _ lighter _ , he had admitted that it sometimes flickered a light  **green** , which was confusing because they weren’t actually “family”, so it only served to make them more confused and agitated. Knowing that Britta had a tendency to give Annie  _ looks _ \--though she could never quite decipher what kind they were or what they actually  _ meant _ \--she decided to throw Britta a bone.

“But maybe when Jeff gets here, we can talk to him as a group, about his tardiness,” Annie offered, choosing to ignore Britta’s slight eye roll.

“Oh, come on now. Don’t use that word around Ay-bed,” Pierce interrupted.

Annie frowned in confusion at the old man, as she tried to figure out what word he meant.

“And in case you want me to have a chat with Jeff, I’d be happy to do it,” Pierce continued. “We’ve got a bond going, kind of, sort of like brothers.”

“I hope your mom didn’t make you take baths together, ‘cause one of you would have been like 30,” Troy joked.

They all laughed, and Annie discreetly took out her phone to check for any messages from Jeff. There were three messages in all. Two from Jeff and one from… her father. She deleted that one without looking at it. Knowing that it was simply his annual “check-in” text. She practically had it memorized.

**_Father:_ ** _ How is my little, Anne? I know you are excelling wherever you are, and whatever you are doing. I love you. _

Annie had stopped responding the moment he chose not to answer her phone call when she went to enter rehab, and didn’t respond to her text message when she’d completed it, simply agreed with her mother (according to the text message she’d received) that she didn’t need to go and had made things considerable “more dramatic” by doing so. She shoved down the feeling of rejection that rose up and momentarily strangled her, and made her eyes water, and instead opened her messages from Jeff.

**_Jeff W.:_ ** _ hey runnin l8 _

**_Jeff W.:_ ** _ u look rly prty 2day _

Annie blushed slightly, pushing her hair behind her ear for a moment, as she turned to Britta who was speaking with a frown.

“... journalists are being killed by their own government.”

“Uhh, baby, you, uh, jumped a column there. What’s happening in Guatemala?” Shirley asked.

“Nothing,” Britta responded.   
Annie shook herself mentally, and frowned at Britta with confusion and shock rocketing through her. “Wait. Journalists are being murdered?” She asked.

“Believe me. Everyday in that country, people are being killed for speaking out. And the worst part of it is, when it’s all over…” Britta said.

“Spoilers,” Abed interjected.

“...it’s going to be as if it never happened,” she finished. “Hey, Abed. Real stories, they don’t have spoilers. You understand that TV and life are different, right?”

“Hey!” Jeff called from the doorway.

“Hey!” They all called back.

Jeff smiled at Annie, and headed over to her. He took her hand, after placing his books down on the table.

“Milady,” he greeted her, placing a kiss on the back of it.

Annie shivered, gave him a smile in return, and giggled. “Milord.”

She watched as Jeff made his way around the table greeting the rest of the group.

“Hey, baby.”

“Vitamin P.”

“Word them everywhere.”

“It was for you.”

Until he reached Britta…

“Britta.”

“Hey, Jeff. I think there was something the group wanted to talk to you about.”

They all denied it, and when Jeff looked at her, Annie shook her head. Britta scoffed.

“Okay, if you’re going to study with people, it would be cool if you showed up on time.”

“Oh, were you guys waiting?”

Again, the group denied Britta’s words. And when Jeff offered up a bit of vulnerability, though with his usual arrogant jerkiness, Annie handed over the Spanish notes he’d requested of her the night before. She once again ignored the disgusted scoff from Britta, and instead focused on studying for Spanish. It was up to her to keep the group on task, because the two times she hadn’t, they hadn’t gotten any work done.

She knew her role in the group. It was up to her to make sure everyone passed.

And as her gaze drifted almost unconsciously towards Jeff, she knew that it was up to her to make sure they got to a point where they could finally acknowledge the threads that existed between them. Always there. Always vibrating. And always, every minute of every day, with every text message shared between them, and with every glance, every brush of their fingers as they walked down the hallway… growing thicker, growing brighter, becoming more solid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for the next upload. Get ready... the DEBATE episode is coming!


	3. Debates, Christmas, Emerald Green Threads, And Text Messages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff and Annie debate.  
> Jeff and Annie kiss.  
> Jeff and Annie text.  
> Jeff and Annie kiss.  
> And something wonderful, but surprising happens....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the second upload today.
> 
> (*I don't own Community. But I do own this universe. I am its god! Bwahahaha. J/k*)
> 
> Thank you for reading and commenting!

**Debates, Christmas, Emerald Green Threads, And Text Messages**

Annie woke up with a smile on her face, the text messages she and Jeff had exchanged the night before, replaying through her mind.

**_Jeff:_ ** _ dreamt i was swimn thru a c of prpl, blk, gold, & slvr last nite _

**_Annie:_ ** _ What do you think that means? _

**_Jeff:_ ** _ that ive ben round u 2 much _

**_Annie:_ ** _ Is that what you really think, Jeff? _

**_Jeff:_ ** _ no _

**_Annie:_ ** _ Then what do you think it means? _

**_Jeff:_ ** _ that im maturing & am close 2 accptn our ~~~~ _

**_Annie:_ ** _ I’m proud of you, Milord. _

**_Jeff:_ ** _ thx milady _

And perhaps it was that feeling of happiness that had compelled her to approach Jeff for his help with the debate against City College when her debate partner dropped out.

“... a night of companionship, if you know what I mean?” Dean Pelton suggested, stepping close to Jeff.

Annie covered the grin that threatened with her fingers, when Jeff gave her a look of horror.

“I’ll do it for the free parking space, and if you never tell me what you mean,” Jeff responded, then stepped around them and walked away.

Annie had felt optimistic, going into that first debate, but when she’d noticed the looks of boredom as she made her points, then saw the way the judges had shaken their heads when Jeff had led the crowd into song, she’d known they were in trouble. She didn’t really think Jeff would take things seriously, until they were confronted by Jeremy Simmons in the hallway. And though Jeff seemed to shrug off Jeremy mocking him about no longer being a lawyer, it wasn’t until Jeremy mocked her, that Jeff seemed to grow angry and decide that he was actually going to prep for the next debate.

And though neither of them mentioned it, Annie knew they were both distinctly aware of their  **purple, black,** and  **gold** threads getting thicker and brighter, and the new thread that appeared, the color flickering, and not truly distinctive.

* * *

Annie and Jeff sat at the study group’s table, both poring over quotes, statistics, mottos,  _ Scriptures _ , documents, and page after page in various books, as they prepped for their next debate.

“So in the experiment, Stanford students were divided into prisoners and guards. The guards immediately started--” Annie began, when Jeff let out a groan of pain, pinching the top of his nose.

“Ugh!”

“What’s wrong?” She asked.

“I have this weird pain right above my eyebrow,” Jeff responded, hissing.

Annie shook her head, wondering how the older man had gone so long without experiencing it.

_ Wow, he really hasn’t ever done any kind of strenuous work… except, perhaps for exercising his body. _

“It’s called a stress headache,” she informed him. “I got my first one when I was four.”

“I hate it,” Jeff complained.

Annie rolled her eyes. “Well, get used to it. You’re knee-deep in it now, brother. This is debate. If you want to win, you need to prepare.”

Jeff nodded. “Well, agreed. But if  _ you _ want to win, you need to loosen up. Go off book, robot debater,” he countered, slamming his right fist down into the palm of his left hand, in a mimicry of Annie’s actions in the first debate.

Annie blinked as she took in his words and realized…

“Oh, my gosh. You’re right. Simmons is so good at using his  _ inherent _ magnetism to sell his points,” she began, ignoring Jeff’s scoff and eye roll. “And here I am, like a spinster librarian with my hair pulled back.”

Jeff nodded. “Yeah.”

Annie straightened her shoulders, then coming to a decision, reached up and released her hair from the clasp it was in at the top of her head. She ran her fingers through her hair, feeling--for once in her life--as if the  _ burden of perfection _ was slightly lifted from her shoulders. She smiled shyly and looked over at Jeff, with her hand up in a gesture of display.

“What do you think?”

Jeff licked his lips. “Yeah…”

Annie grinned and wriggled slightly with happiness as the silver thread between she and Jeff vibrated slightly, before flaring to life, and getting slightly brighter.

“Thanks,” she said brightly.

“Be careful, Abed thinks you two are gonna kiss,” Shirley interrupted from the door with a chuckle. Though Shirley believed that “God” was the creator and giver of threads, she’d told Annie more than once, that just because someone has a “thread connection” with someone else, it didn’t mean they needed to act on it,  _ right then _ .

Jeff and Annie looked at each other in surprise, as Shirley giggled, “Ridiculous,” and backed out of the room.

“Us. Kissing. That is ridiculous,” Jeff chuckled breathlessly. “We’re not… ready for that. Not yet. Not when we’re--”

Annie nodded quickly. “Totally,” she giggled.

They shared a look.

“We should get back to work,” Annie said quickly.

“Yeah.” Jeff nodded. “The people are inherently evil.”

“Oh!” Annie gasped, having noticed something in the book she was reading. “We can use this Hobbes quote.” She stood up and brought over the book to show Jeff. Her cardigan having been discarded. “Man is a collection of base animal urges. To act on them and experience sinful pleasure would be morally no different than taking a breath.” In that moment, she glanced over at Jeff, and noticed that his eyes were fastened onto her cleavage. Warmth suffused her being and she grew short of breath.

_ Oh god. _

“That’s poignant, right?” She asked, as she went to stand up straight.

“Yeah,” Jeff agreed, breathlessly. “You know, maybe we should study alone,” he suggested, lifting his arms to run his fingers through his hair, as Annie slammed shut the book, and looked away.

“Yeah,” she agreed.

“Separately,” Jeff clarified.

She nodded. “Yeah. That way we can be more reproductive… productive!” She corrected as the  **silver, purple,** and  **gold** threads flared, brightened, and grew stronger.

_ Oh gosh. How much brighter and stronger can they get? _

She stared up into Jeff’s face, as he stared down into hers, so much left unspoken. Both of them trying to ignore their reality.

“Bye!” They said simultaneously. Annie stepped forward to give Jeff a hug, as he held out his hand towards her to shake. They backed away, and tried again. This time, Annie went for the handshake, and Jeff went for the hug as they both laughed nervously. They stepped apart slightly again, and Jeff patted Annie on the head.

_ Really? A head pat? What the… bullhonk was that? _

Jeff rushed away, and Annie glanced down, noticing his phone on the study room’s table.

“Oh, you forgot your phone!” She called out.

“Well, I can get another one,” Jeff returned, not looking back once.

Annie shook her head, wondering why they were both so uncomfortable with accepting their connection.

_ Something has got to give, and it might be up to me to do something about it. But what? _

She shook her head again, as she began gathering their prep materials, and returning them to their appropriate shelves and spots.

_ One day I’m going to come and fix this library, _ she promised herself.  _ There are so many things that are in the wrong spot. _

And hearing Jeff’s quick footsteps returning to the room so he could grab his phone did not disappoint her, it merely made her more determined.

At the next debate, Annie listened to Jeremy’s point, with annoyance. When Jeff rose to offer his rebuttal, she focused, feeling pride soar through her, as he spoke. She then spoke, and Jeremy offered his counterpoint. Back and forth they went, Jeff and Annie going toe-to-toe with the arrogant young man from City College.

“We make an amazing team,” Annie said excitedly, bouncing in her seat.

“I know. We’re so in sync,” Jeff agreed. “We’re like a perfect duet, or great se… hey, Professor Whitman!”

They both turned to the debate teacher, as he leaned next to them. “Jeffrey, your preparation was impeccable. You remind me of a young me… with slightly worse hair.”

Annie considered his words, then nodded in agreement.

“I just checked with the judges. They’ll need a miracle to win in rebuttal,” Dean Pelton informed them with excitement. “Simmons is finished!”

Annie grinned widely, when she noticed Jeremy Simmons tearing up his cards.

“Whoa. Whoa. Whoa,” she interrupted the group’s premature celebration. “He’s going off book,” she pointed out.

Jeff, Dean Pelton, and Professor Whitman all turned to look over at the other debater as well.

Annie stood, Jeff next to her, as Jeremy sped towards them in his electric wheelchair, before abruptly stopping it and launching himself through the air, towards Annie. Jeff stepped in front of her, and caught the paralyzed man in his arms.

“He hates me. Yet, he caught me. Man. Is. Good!” Jeremy declared.

City College’s fans leapt into the air with applause and cheers. Annie looked around, noticed the judges scribbling on their pads, and felt defeat nipping at her heels. And yet, when she looked at Jeff, she saw his confusion, and his helplessness. He glanced around, his eyes briefly connecting with hers, a look of apology in his blue orbs and she knew.

She.  _ Knew. _

This was it. The moment she’d been searching for. Not only could she help Greendale defeat City College, and effectively put Jeremy Simmons into his place, but she could finally take a step towards solidifying the connection she had with Jeff. It was time that she took matters into her own hands.

_ I hope you’re ready, Jeffrey Winger. I’m launching the ball towards your net, and the next step will be yours. _

She stepped forward quickly, grabbed Jeff’s head and turned it towards her, and before he could question her, she pulled his head down and took his lips with her own. They kissed fiercely. Passionately. His tongue pressed forward desperately into her mouth, dueling with her own. The applause from City College died down, everything around them became white noise. Though she heard a thud, it was only Jeff’s arms wrapping tightly around her that let her know he had dropped Jeremy carelessly, unthinkingly, to the floor. Jeff moaned, and she answered with a moan of her own, before she pushed him away. She only glanced at him for a moment, enough for her to see that their  **silver, purple** , and  **gold** threads had  _ doubled _ , before she turned to the audience.

She gestured towards Jeff. “He was horny.” She gestured towards Jeremy. “So he dropped him.” She grinned. “Man. Is. Evil.” She kept her hand on Jeff’s shoulder, still slightly unsteady from their kiss, and to reassure him, reassure  _ both _ of them, that what they shared, what had just happened was real. She could see Jeff looking around in confusion from her peripheral vision, and noticed the moment he stared at her. She could only offer him a sly smile, before she focused back on the judges.

Jean Wilson, one of the judges, jumped to her feet. “GREENDALE WINS!”

Greendale’s small smattering of fans, students, and teachers, exploded into shocked, and happy applause. And Annie jumped up and down in excitement, only then did she remove her hand from Jeff’s shoulder, as she celebrated with Dean Pelton, and Professor Whitman.

“HUZZAH!” Professor Whitman exclaimed. Jeff remained frozen in place, still looking around, and Annie did an internal dance that her kiss had affected him so greatly.

“Eat that Simmons!” Professor Whitman gloated.

Annie looked up at Jeff and grinned. “That off-book enough for ya?” She asked, and saw Jeff nod still looking stunned.

Annie and Jeff followed the celebrating Greendale students and teachers from the room, and came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs.

“Well, I’m going this way, so…” Annie paused, glancing up at Jeff meaningfully.

“Well, um, congratulations… buddy?” Jeff responded.

Annie grinned, noticing that Jeff still seemed to be slightly off-kilter.

_ I’ll give him time to think about his response, _ she promised herself.

“Thanks…  _ pal _ ,” she teased.

Once again they nervously couldn’t figure out how to say goodbye…  _ handshake? Hug? _ And with a roll of her eyes and a sigh, Annie said, “Just pat me,” grunting in annoyance when Jeff did just that.

She turned to head for her car. Frustration slithering through her veins. Had her actions taken her relationship with Jeff two steps forward and one step backwards?

**_Jeff:_ ** _ that was a helluva kiss milady _

Annie looked at the text message on her phone, and looked up through the windshield at Jeff, who stood in the middle of the sidewalk, staring at his own cell.

**_Annie:_ ** _ Yeah? _

**_Jeff:_ ** _ hell ya _

**_Annie:_ ** _ It’s hell yes, Jeff. _

**_Jeff:_ ** _ lol keep at it doe eyes ull make me a man worthy of u yet _

Annie clutched her phone to her chest and gave a happy sigh.

So, two steps forward then.

No steps back.

* * *

_ December 10th _

_ The Day Before Christmas Break _

_ Freshman Year _

After fighting the bullies in the quad, the Greendale Seven gathered in the study room for their holiday celebration. They ate, shared stories of their recent experience, tended each other’s wounds, and applauded as Shirley finished her song. Just as Senor Chang entered the room.

“So, I have finished grading everyone’s finals. And all of you are moving on,” the Asian man stated.

“Yeah!” They all applauded, and Annie bounced slightly on the arm of Troy’s chair, where she’d been tending to his wounded shoulder.

Senor Chang laughed. “Except for Jeff. It turns out you--pause for dramatic effect--will be seeing me, next semester.”

Annie stared at the teacher in horror, her eyes moving over to Jeff’s face where disappointment and shame slid over his face, and the new  **green** thread that had appeared among the entire group, but was an almost emerald between she and Jeff, thrummed between tem.

_ No. How could this be? We studied so hard. Jeff was doing better. I made sure of it. This group will fall apart without him with us… I think I might, if he’s not with me. Sitting behind me in class. Our threads growing stronger every day. What will I do? No. No. NO… _

_ “Noooooooo!” She screamed, her frantic, passionate, swirling thoughts of denial exploding from her lips. _

_ “In Spanish 102,” Senor Chang laughed. “Because he passed, you know. And I’m the only Spanish teacher?” Senor Chang spread his arms outwards as he finished his unasked for, and ill-received joke. _

_ Annie leapt to her feet. “Yay!” Relief exploded throughout her body, and for the first time since they’d met, Annie felt the  _ **purple** thread thrumming  _ towards _ her from Jeff, independent of her reciprocating. She smiled at him, then noticed the broad grin from Senor Chang. A thin,  **silver** thread started to stretch towards her from the teacher, and she broke eye contact with him before it could completely connect, especially since she noticed the  **blue** thread intertwined with it.

“I meant about Jeff passing. You being our Spanish teacher? Eh…” She waggled her hand from side-to-side in a gesture of apathy. Senor Chang nodded at her, Annie making sure she kept her gaze above his head, before he left.

The group came together to share a final drink of the semester, before hugging each other and gathering their things to leave.

Annie paused as Jeff reached out to grab her wrist. She glanced up at him.

“Jeff?”

Jeff grinned sheepishly, and shyly at her, releasing her wrist and rubbing at the back of his neck.

“I um… I hope you have a great Hanukkah,” he said.

Annie smiled back at him. “Thanks, Jeff. I hope you have a great Christmas.”

He nodded, and Annie watched as he shuffled his feet shyly. She tilted her head in confusion, about to ask him what was wrong, when he sighed, and reached into his pocket to tug out the sprig of mistletoe he had hidden within.

“One last kiss to close out the semester?” He suggested and Annie smiled shyly, bouncing in place, as she gripped her backpack straps with excitement.

“I’d love to,” she breathed, tilting her face up for a kiss.

She hummed softly, the moment Jeff’s lips met hers, and was surprised when she felt the air swirling around them, she opened her eyes wide, never removing her mouth from Jeff’s and found his eyes fixed on her face. They were locked in their embrace, as  **purple, gold,** and  **silver** threads flew up between them, twisting and interlocking, and the  **emerald green** thread coating each thread, until each thread was a mixture of all four colors. The threads wrapped around them, joined by the thick  **black** one that was almost the size of Jeff’s thigh. The threads tightened and tightened around them, pressing the two of them so close, they were almost one, before the they tied themselves into a bow, and disappeared.

Annie and Jeff stepped away from each other. Each of them gasping. Both of them shocked by what had taken place. Neither of them know  _ what _ had just happened.

“Jeff?” Annie gasped.

“I don’t know, Annie,” Jeff shook his head in response. “I’ve never experienced that before or heard of it happening with anyone else.”

They continued to stare at each other, then Annie swallowed thickly.

“Text me tomorrow?” She asked hesitantly.

Jeff nodded. “Absolutely.”

She returned his nod, then turned and briskly left the room.

* * *

When Jeff came upon Troy and Abed later, the latter dressing up the former as a Christmas tree, the feeling of  _ joy _ ,  _ contentment, serenity,  _ and yes,  _ love _ , that he’d felt since the moment with Annie twenty minutes previous, encouraged him to step forward and join the two younger men.

After they finished, Jeff patted them both on the backs, and turned to leave.

“Hey Jeff,” Abed called out. Jeff turned and quirked an eyebrow.

“Yeah?”

Abed pointed at him, and tilted his head. “Why did you and Annie cover yourselves in glitter?”

Jeff looked down at himself, and shook his head. “What are you talking about?”

Abed nodded and gestured at Jeff’s face, neck, and forearms. “Yeah, see? You have purple, green, black, silver, and gold glitter on your skin. Annie had the same thing on her when I saw her leave earlier. Were you two playing Christmas tree as well?”

Jeff swallowed nervously, and shook his head.  _ Abed can see the colors of my threads with Annie on my skin? What the hell? _

“No man, we weren’t,” he answered.

Abed lowered his head slightly, his eyebrows scrunching in confusion, as he worked out some puzzle, or tried to figure out an explanation. After a short moment, he returned his eyes back to Jeff’s face. “I’ll figure out what it is, and get back to you, okay?”

Jeff nodded, and after swallowing the lump that rose in his throat, turned and strode quickly from the room.

He slid his hand into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out his phone.

**_Jeff:_ ** _ What’s your address? I’m coming over. We need to talk. _

* * *

Meanwhile, Annie was at home, brushing her hair, smiling as she recalled their kiss. She turned to look at her phone on her nightstand…

But the screen remained dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who did Jeff text?????
> 
> And for those of you keeping track, yes, Abed's... uniqueness, makes him able to see things on a different level than others around him. Thus giving a sort of weight to his words.
> 
> And for those of you keeping track... my next story upload will be "Don't Take The Girl." It will probably post early Friday morning, because I have a dentist appointment, a therapy appointment, and a date tomorrow.
> 
> But I can tell you... it's going to be a rough chapter. Be prepared to cry.


	4. Christmas Break, Buddy, and Vaughn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie runs into Jeff and the person he sent a text message to at the start of Christmas break... it has unfortunate consequences for the both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your comments and kudos!
> 
> You're getting two chapter uploads today, and probably 2 for the next few days for some of my other stories, because I have to go in for oral surgery on Tuesday. So I hope you enjoy!

**Christmas Break, Buddy, and Vaughn**

The study group met back up in the study room after the Christmas break and caught up on everything they’d all been up to in the weeks prior. Jeff’s appearance in the doorway, leaning against the wood, looking cool, caused them all to startle.

Everyone except Annie.

A few days after Christmas break had begun, she was surprised to look up from where she had been reading the back of a  _ Spanish For Dummies _ book in the bookstore, to find Jeff’s eyes on her. Intense. Dark. Lustful. Confused.

Jeff and Michelle Slater. The professor of Statistics from Greendale.

Annie wasn’t exactly sure what she’d been expecting. Or even what she should feel in that moment, but the sharp prick of pain that sliced through her, had her gasping for breath, dropping the book she held, and wrapping her arms around her stomach. She turned away from the very obvious  _ couple _ , and rushed towards the exit.

“Annie!” Jeff’s voice was loud and echoed in the rather quiet building. Annie had to fight her instincts which demanded that she stop and find out what he had to say. But just as she went to bring her body to a halt, a flash of Jeff and Michelle standing together near the  _ Life & Relationships _ section, their bodies indescribably close zipped through her mind.

She gasped again, tears rushing to her eyes, and she shook her head, pushing through the double doors of the  _ Books A Million _ store and heading off in the direction of her car.

“Annie Edison! Stop!” Jeff yelled at her.

She spun around and furiously wiped away the tears that streamed down her cheeks. She narrowed her eyes at Jeff who was rushing towards her… and Professor Slater who raced after him.

“No! Fu-- _ Forget _ you, Jeff!” She screamed, stomping her foot. Then realizing how  _ young _ that made her seem, she tightened her fingers into fists and silently screamed with her mouth closed. She spun on her heels and practically ran to her car. She fought with the straps of her bookbag, trying to get her car keys out of the front zipper. Her bag fell to the ground, and with a cry Annie knelt and tried to collect everything that had fallen out and shove it back inside, with no care for organization or order. She’d pull over down the street and fix everything. She just needed to hurry up and get out of there.

“Annie,  _ please _ , just talk to me,” Jeff pleaded as he came to a sliding stop in front of her.

“No! Jeff, just leave me alone.  _ Please _ ,” Annie cried as she continued to scoop up her things and shove them into her backpack.

“Jeff, just leave the little girl alone. It’s obvious that she doesn’t want to talk to you,” Professor Slater said with a smirk and a sneer.

Annie narrowed her eyes at the other woman, then turned to look back at Jeff. She lowered her voice and her gaze.

“Please, Jeff. Just go away,” she whispered as her tears continued to flow. She breathed a sigh of relief when Jeff finally rose and stepped away from her. She shoved the rest of her things into her bag, then holding her keys in one hand and her bag with her other, she rushed over to her car, opened the door and climbed in. She started the car and drove away towards her apartment.

Halfway there, she pulled over to the side of the road, dropped her head and sobbed helplessly.

* * * *

Days later, Annie was laying in her bed, looking over pamphlets and forms for her transfer to City College when there was a knock on her apartment door. She frowned, wondering who it could be, and rose with a measure of trepidation. She headed over, pushed herself up on her toes, and looked through the peephole. She gasped as she saw Jeff standing on the other side, looking disgustedly around the hallway. Biting her lower lip, Annie hesitated on opening the door.

“Annie? Please let me in,” Jeff asked.

She sighed, then unlocked and pulled open the door to let him in.

“Jeff,” she greeted. “How can I help you?” She went for polite, but she was distinctly aware of the slight tremble in her voice.

“I think we need to talk about what happened at the bookstore four days ago,” Jeff stated.

Annie shook her head and waved off his words. “There’s no need,” she said.

“I think there is,” he replied. He wandered through her apartment, looking at the way she’d decorated everything, smiling at the framed pictures placed around the room.

Annie crossed her arms as she watched him, unmoving, her heart pounding in her chest. Confusion soared through her as she stared at him for long moments, until finally he sighed and turned to face her.

“Michelle and I are seeing each other, but it’s not serious,” he informed her.

Annie inhaled sharply at his words and nodded. “Okay, thanks for letting me know. Now…” She turned back to the door and swept her arm out.

“Is that all you have to say?” Jeff asked, sounding annoyed and frustrated, simultaneously.

Annie rolled her eyes and spun back around, her hands on her hips. “What do you want me to say, Jeff?” She gestured around the room. “You came here, to my apartment, to tell me that you’re seeing someone. Okay. You’ve told me. Now you can leave.”

Jeff growled and ran his fingers through his hair. “I want to know how you  _ feel _ about what I just said.”

Annie marched up to him, stopping a few short feet away. “Why?”

“Why what?” Jeff frowned.

“Why do you care how I feel?” She asked him.

“Because…” Jeff threw his hands up in the air.

“Because  _ why _ , Jeff?” She prodded.

“Because… because! Because I want to know okay?”

Annie shook her head. “Not good enough, Jeff.” She pushed him as hard as she could, bouncing slightly with joy when Jeff actually fell back a couple of feet. “You came here to rub your new relationship in my face. Consider my face sufficiently covered in your new  _ love _ . Now get the heck out of here!”

Jeff walked over to the door with a growl, then stopped after a moment and spun back around to face her. He stomped back over to her, leaned down, took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. Annie froze for a moment, before she sank into him. But after a moment she pushed him away with an angry shove.

“What the…  _ hell _ , Jeff!” She hissed. “You  _ just _ told me that you have a new girlfriend!”

Jeff scoffed and shook his head. “I  _ never _ said girlfriend! I said she and I were seeing each other.”

“Still,” She huffed. “So you tell me that and then… what? You kiss me? What is  _ wrong _ with you?”

Jeff ran his hands down his face with a groan, then mumbled something she couldn’t understand. Annie frowned and shook her head. “What?”

“I said, ImdatingherbecauseIneedtomakesureIcandoitbeforeItrytodateyou,” he muttered.

Annie gasped, then clenched her jaw, placing her fists down on her hips. “Oh please, Jeff. You’re trying to tell me that you’re dating some other woman because you want to date me?”

He rolled his eyes, then dropped his head, releasing a deep breath. “Look, Annie. We know what we are to each other. What our… um… threads are. We know that if nothing else, our  **purple,** and  **gold** threads mean that we’re  _ destined _ to um…  _ love _ each other. But here’s the thing. I kind of did some research and it doesn’t mean that we’re destined to be together forever.” He shook his head. “But see… there aren’t too many people in my life who actually love me. Aren’t too many people who are meant to be my family, or whatever. You mean a lot to me already, even without all of…” He gestured between them. “But, I know, deep within me that you and I? We’re going to be amazing together. But I know that if… when… we finally do get together, if we break up? If things don’t work out? It’s going to be my fault. So…” He rubbed the back of his head.

“I’m learning with Michelle, so I know what  _ not _ to do with you.”

Annie sighed and crossed her arms. She tapped her foot and regarded him silently. After a long moment, she nodded. “Okay, Jeff. If that’s what you want to believe, and want me to believe, are your reasons, then… okay.” She shrugged. “Now, if you’ll please leave?” She opened the door and waited again for him to leave. Her stomach clenched, as he walked towards her, his eyes catching the sight of the brochures on the bed. He paused and picked one of them up.

“Annie?” He questioned her.

She rushed over and snatched the brochure from his fingers and quickly threw her coverlet over the rest of the brochures and papers, she’d just been studying. She refused to turn to look at him, even as she felt him walk up behind her.

“You’re leaving me?” He asked her softly, his breath breezing through the strands of her hair.

“Jeff, you know I always planned to transfer eventually,” she told him.

“Yeah,  _ eventually _ , but not now. Not before we…” He paused. He touched her shoulder, but Annie couldn’t turn around to face him. Not now.

“Please don’t leave yet. Please.” And though she couldn’t see him, Annie’s heart stuttered at the sound of pain she heard in his words.

“I promise I’ll make myself worthy of you, Annie. That I’ll fix this. Just… give me time. Please, Annie. Don’t transfer before the end of the next term? Please? Make your decision in May.”

Annie sighed, then nodded. She heard him exhale, then shivered slightly as he placed a kiss on the back of her head.

“Thank you, Annie.”

She stood there, not turning around until she heard his footsteps walk out the apartment, and the door close behind him.

* * * *

Buddy singing about her fanny had caused a reaction in most of the group, but Annie watched as Jeff leaned forward to tell the other man that because she was young they tried not to sexualize her. She wanted to roll her eyes. She wanted to remind him of the kiss they’d shared in her apartment over Christmas break, but instead she kept quiet, and focused on the list in front of her. The one she’d made shortly after he’d left her apartment a couple of weeks before:

_ Reasons To Stay At Greendale vs. Reasons To Leave. _

She made a new entry:

**No more overprotectiveness from the man who refuses to acknowledge our relationship** .

She shut her binder, and got back involved in the conversation taking place at the table.

When Jeff gave her the investigative journalist role for the student paper, she’d been honored, and excited. Discovering that the dean had sent out text messages about the Toni Braxton concert to only the black students, and one French-Canadian student named, Lebron, Annie saw it as an opportunity to finally be able to transfer to another school with a journalism scholarship.

_ I can finally get out of Greendale. Away from Jeff and his  _ girlfriend _ Michelle. Maybe transfer to a school in Massachusetts. Or going the other way, maybe a college in California. _

“And you are not running that story!” Jeff yelled at her days later.

“Why not?” She asked angrily.

“Because I said so!”

Annie felt a surge of rage in her veins, and she crossed her arms below her bust. She wanted to argue. She wanted to debate her right to post the story in the newspaper, but she looked at Jeff’s face and saw how angry he looked. She frowned and lowered her eyebrows in guilt and disappointment in herself.

Even though her relationship… or friendship… with Jeff had changed extraordinarily since the discovery of his dating Professor Slater, there was still something inside of Annie that didn’t want to disappoint him. Didn’t want to upset him, or hurt him. So she went to him and told him so. The look on his face:  _ relief, gratitude,  _ and  _ happiness _ , made her feel better.

A feeling that dissipated quite fast when she felt his gaze on her, outside in the quad, as she talked to Britta’s ex-boyfriend, Vaughn. The young, hippie guy had stopped her on her way to Spanish, to ask her about the shirt she was wearing. She’d answered, and found herself having a conversation with him. She’d had every intention of moving on after a few minutes, but after seeing Jeff and Britta watching her out of the corner of her eye, she’d stayed around to keep talking to the often shirtless and shoeless guy.

Which led to him flattering her.

Which led to Annie feeling flattered.

And before she knew it, she was justifying going out for  _ green tea _ with Vaughn, and agreeing to get ice cream with him…

And asking Britta if it was okay to  _ date  _ him.

She ignored Jeff’s apparent annoyance with the whole thing, seeing as how he was still dating Professor Slater. He wasn’t the only one who needed to “practice” dating someone else to make sure there were no mistakes when they finally did get together.

_ If _ they did.

Though she didn’t share the information with anyone else, Annie and Vaughn had  **silver** and  **purple** threads. Though the  **purple** was light, an almost  **lavender** color, it was still there. And it was for that reason that Annie decided to actually give the relationship a shot. A real chance to grow into something real.

Even if it threatened what she could possibly have with Jeff. Because that wasn’t set in stone and frankly, Annie was tired of waiting.


	5. Pottery, Rich, Pranks, and Paintball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff discovers that he may have more than one rival for Annie's affections, and that he's not as amazing as he thought. Plus, there's PAINTBALL!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my second upload today. I kind of wanted to get all the way through the first season today, but Pascal's Triangle Revisited needs its own chapter, and I wanted to make sure I got these two up today.

**Pottery, Rich, Pranks, and Paintball**

Jeff’s suggestion for the “ultimate blow off class” was Beginner’s Pottery. Something he had been sure would be an easy thing to pass and add to his transcript. When Annie and Abed decided to take the class with him, he’d been happy about the chance to spend time with the guy who was fastly becoming one of his best friends, and the girl who was his destiny. He’d been thinking a lot more about Annie since his breakup with Michelle. He’d gone over every single moment they’d spent together, but couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong. However, he’d had to admit that he’d felt immense relief that it had been Michelle that had broken things off with him and not the other way around. And though he had made out furiously with Pierce’s stepdaughter, Amber, on Family Day, Annie’s face kept haunting him, and he’d ended up putting the kibosh on the whole thing.

Though he hadn’t told anyone that. He still had a reputation to uphold, after all.

But the very thin, very light  **silver** thread that had existed between him and Amber hadn’t seemed worth threatening the threads he had with Annie.

Now he just needed her to break up with Vaughn so he could tell her that and they could finally be together.

However, their inevitability was threatened once again when Annie locked eyes with the “Oh So Perfect” Dr. Rich in their pottery class. Jeff had wanted to ask her what threads had formed between the two of them, but his insecurity was already threatened when he realized how…  _ perfect _ and  _ talented _ the other man really was. Rich was handsome, nice, humble, intelligent, had a sense of humor, and didn’t seem to be bothered by Jeff’s attempts to humiliate or insult him. But it was Annie’s excitement and  _ adoration _ of the “good doctor” which bothered Jeff more than anything.

She was already dating Vaughn, did she have to throw her  _ interest _ in the man that Jeff now saw as his rival in his face?

So he’d gone into the pottery classroom to actually put some effort into  _ making something _ , just so he could prove to Annie that he was capable, only to be  _ shocked _ \--shocked I tell you--at the disaster his hands had formed. Which could only mean one thing…

Rich was a ringer… a cheater.

Jeff knew cheaters. Jeff  _ was _ a cheater. So he knew how to expose them. And he would expose Rich. Not only to the entire class, but to Annie.

She was his and therefore he was the  _ only _ one who deserved her adoration. He let her date Vaughn, the hippie wasn’t  _ really _ a threat, and she’d only started dating him because Jeff had been dating Michelle, but Rich? Rich was actually a problem. Or could be, if Jeff didn’t put a stop to the other man.

After talking to Rich, and learning he’d done his residency in Santa Fe, Jeff had gone into the library, not just to find a quiet spot and argue with idiots on Twitter but to do actual research.

“Did you sleep here?” Britta asked.

“Only for a few hours,” he replied without looking up at her. He gasped and turned to look at her. “Guess where Rich is from?”

Britta smirked. “Couldn’t have been Crazy Town, you’d have gone to school together.”

Jeff ignored her snide dig and answered his own question. “Santa Fe, New Mexico. Nobody gets out of Santa Fe without learning how to make a pot.” He said. He ignored Annie’s look of confusion and concern and continued with his extrapolation. “Forty-five percent Hispanic. Fifth-highest Native American population. They eat and breathe clay there.”

Annie stared at him with worry. “I think some of this research may have been done on Wikipedia.”

Jeff stared at her, quirking an eyebrow. “You’re mocking me?  _ You _ ?” She looked shocked and he continued. “No, no, no, fine. Go ahead. Mock me.”

“Oh, Jeff. You’re Goldblum-ing,” Abed stated, and Jeff turned away from Annie who looked a little ashamed, and considered his friend.

“Goldblum-ing?” He chuckled hysterically. “I, uh… I don’t know what that means,” he lied. He shook himself and gestured at the laptop he’d gone and purchased  _ just _ for his research on Rich. “Look, I have work to do before class, because I wanna catch Rich when he slips up.”

* * * *

Jeff’s obsession with trying to discredit Rich led to him being kicked out of pottery class, and eventually having to apologize to the teacher, to Rich, to the class. He had, in fact, Goldblum-ed, and had eventually fallen off the edge of what could be called sanity. It had taken a conversation with Pierce, of all people, to help him see what the real problem was.

“If I ever let being bad at something stop me? I wouldn’t be here,” Pierce said. He observed Jeff intently. “And if I ever had a  **gold** thread with a woman? A  **gold, purple, silver,** and  **black** thread? Knowing that I was destined to not only love her, be sexually compatible with her, and be friends with her, but that it would be  _ reciprocated _ ? Well, you can bet your ass that I wouldn’t be wasting time trying to prove I was better at pottery than some other man, or even  _ trial-dating _ other women, instead of just being with her.”

He went to leave the storage shed where they’d been talking and patted Jeff on the shoulder.

“Stop being an ass, Jeffrey, and go claim your destiny.”

Jeff turned to watch Pierce leave, and considered his words. He knew the old man was right. Though Pierce was often crazy, racist, homophobic, crazy, misogynistic, and well… crazy, there were times when he was unexpectedly wise.

“Or you know, you could admit that you’re gay, and let Annie be happy with that Vaughn fellow,” Pierce teased, as he chuckled and continued away,, going to climb into in a row boat in order to meet up with Shirley, Britta, and Troy, at their sailing quiz.

Jeff knew what he had to do, now he just needed to wait for the right moment to do it.

* * * *

Looking for the right opportunity in which to “claim” Annie, to let her know that he wanted her, and only her, for as long as she’d have him, had to be delayed time and time again.

There was Britta’s attempt at humor that led to Annie slamming his head on the study room table… twice. Though she’d apologized to him, Jeff had sensed some hostility and added aggression in her actions that he was certain had nothing to do with the “investigation” she and Shirley was doing, and was instead linked to a number of things he’d done wrong since the moment they met and their threads appeared.

Then there was their sort of “mafia takeover” of the school, that Jeff had initiated, but had then somehow been nudged out of, as Abed rose to power, and the group got high off of the control they had. Jeff had been sort of alarmed at the way the group, this band of seven misfits, who were not at all villanious or manipulative, had become so… comfortable in their roles as an organized crime family. Coming out of that whole… kerfuffle had made all seven of them look at each other a little more warily and with great surprise. For like… a day. And then everything had returned to normal

Until the day that Pierce pulled down Shirley’s skirt, and they all discovered that the good, wholesome, Christian, mother of two, didn’t wear underwear. His actions led to him being removed from the group, and while Jeff knew that it was something that needed to be done, he and Britta were too busy dealing with some spoiled, annoying high schoolers, for him to really give the situation much focus. Even when it seemed that the group  _ needed _ Pierce to be a “lightning rod” for all of their anger and hostility.

“You need to bang that kid’s mom!” Britta said to him excitedly, as the group discussed how to fix things with Shirley.

Jeff frowned, then realized Britta was right. He got excited.

“Whoa! You’re totally right! I--” He trailed off when he realized Annie was staring at him with surprise and a small measure of hurt on her face. He shook his head.

“No. Wait. Annie…” He called after her, as she walked away from them, shaking her head.

Though he wasn’t exactly sure why being mocked by those high schoolers mattered so much to him and Britta-- _ impudent little jackasses! _ \--Jeff knew he wouldn’t be able to make things right with Shirley and Pierce, or most importantly, Annie, until he crushed those kids. Once that had been done--leading into a pretty epic food fight--Jeff had cornered Abed in the hallway to get the other man’s opinion on what he should do.

“Though Annie would like to pretend that she is a woman who exists solely within the bounds of logic and organization, she is, at the core of herself, still very much a young girl who lives for a love story like those she watched on classic romcoms,” Abed stated, his head tilted to the side. “She is dating Vaughn, and part of her is trying very hard to commit fully to him, but Annie is a woman who respects the threads. She has been waiting for you to do something, pretty spectacular. Something big. To show her that you see her, the same way she sees you. As your destiny. So, the next chance you get? You need to show her that you want her. Watch some movies, I suggest  _ The Proposal _ or  _ He’s Just Not That Into You _ or  _ It’s Complicated _ or better yet,  _ Serendipity _ , that’s very much a movie about destiny and things that are just meant to be.”

He nodded, then pointed at Jeff. “What you are looking for is the perfect opportunity for the grand gesture. For the moment where you take her into your arms, and declare yourself. Where you make sure that she knows she’s it for you. Only then will she make her choice. Only then will she once again see you as a viable option, and give up Vaughn, in order to be with you.”

Jeff nodded, as he stood in the hallway, taking in Abed’s words, but before he could ask the younger man anything else, Abed looked him up and down, inclined his head in Jeff’s direction, then turned and walked away. Jeff stood there, speechless, then chuckled. There was one thing to say for his…  _ unique _ friend. Abed was direct, honest, and to the point. And he didn’t linger over words, conversation, or feelings. He said what needed to be said, and then he left.

And maybe Jeff needed to learn from him. Not so much with the leaving part, but the rest of it.

He needed to say what needed to be said, be direct…  _ honest _ \--a foreign concept to him to be sure, with everyone  _ but _ Annie--and to the point with the woman the Creators had made just for him.

But first… he had some movies to rent

* * * *

“Well, Abed explains it best,” Annie stated after the group groaned at Jeff and Britta’s bickering.

“To put it simply, Jeff and Britta are no Ross and Rachel. Your sexual tension, but lack of chemistry is putting us all on edge. To put it simply, the two of you are keeping  _ us _ from being friends,” Abed explained.

Jeff looked at Abed with a wide-eyed, shocked stare. Why in the  _ hell _ would Abed say that after the two of them had discussed Jeff’s desire, no his  _ need _ , to finally make Annie his, and to get her away from Vaughn once and for all?

Britta snorted. “Jeff and I do  _ not _ have sexual tension. We just argue all the time.”

Shirley cooed. “Just like Sam and Diane.” Her voice turned serious and slightly menacing. “I hated Sam and Diane.”

Annie leaned over to Shirley and whispered, “Who are Sam and Diane?”

Shirley exhaled in exasperation and threw up her hands. “Okay, we get it. You’re young!” She practically growled back. She shook her head. “Sorry.”

Annie turned back to Jeff and Britta, though her eyes did not rest on Jeff’s face for too long. “See what you’re doing to us?” She asked, and Jeff looked at her with confusion and dread sludging their way through his veins. If she was pushing him off onto someone else did that mean that she was done with him?

Pierce spoke up from the other end of the table. “You want my advice? Pork her, and move on. We did it all the time back in my day.”

The entire study group, sans Pierce, looked at him in horror.

Jeff pushed the feeling of disgust aside, and looking decidedly away from Annie, responded to Pierce’s suggestion. “Yeah, but you also put hydrogen in blimps, and that was bad.”

Dean Pelton stepped into the room then, walking right up behind Jeff and putting a hand on his shoulder. The first time that Jeff had looked the thin, bald administrator in the eyes, he’d seen a thin, shaky, light  **black** , almost  **grey** thread, that let him know that one day, he would have a somewhat  _ tenuous _ friendship with the other man. However, when he’d seen the dean later on in the first semester, his reaction to Jeff, had made it seem as if their thread was  **silver** and not a  **light black** , as Jeff  _ knew _ it to be. And when he’d tried to point this out to the other man, he’d simply chuckled, and placed his hand on Jeff’s abs, breathlessly whispering his name.

“Oh Jeffrey…”

It was extremely disturbing.

But, while Jeff couldn’t fault the dean for having a crush at him… I mean… look at him. He was practically sculpted and created by the Creators to  _ be _ the perfect specimen for all of mankind. He was not necessarily in the mood to be the other man’s “grope machine” at that moment. He needed to settle this whole “sleep with Britta” thing, before Annie thought that he intended to do it. There were other ways for him and Britta to deal with whatever  _ tension _ there was between them. He would talk with her, just as soon as he could. They would settle things. Make things clear, then Jeff would go on to make his grand gesture to Annie.

_ Yeah. That’s what I’ll do _ .

“Hey everybody. Just a reminder, our Spring Fling is on the quad today,” the dean said, his hand resting on Jeff’s shoulder. “Music, food, activities, what, what?” He continued lifting both hands and raising them towards the sky in the old school gesture of “raising the roof.”

“He makes me uncomfortable,” Pierce said loudly, looking at Troy.

Dean Pelton whimpered slightly and tilted his head in acknowledgment of Pierce’s words. “Hmm… still in the room.” He gave a slight laugh that was filled with the slightest note of pain, and Jeff felt a… twinge of empathy for the other man, narrowing his eyes at Pierce for making the dean feel bad. He felt their thread thrum, and as he glanced up at the dean, he noticed the thread darkening from  **grey** to a definite  **washed out-black** , but still very much  **black** in color. Dean Pelton gasped and placed his hand on his chest, before frowning a bit and pouting. But he quickly rallied. “There’s also going to be a game of  _ Paintball Assassin _ , with a prize for the last man standing. Or last man in a wheelchair with no paint on him.”

“Or last woman,” Britta interjected.

“Give it a rest, Britta,” Dean Pelton snarked at her. “Ugh.”

“What’s the prize?” Troy asked.

“It was a Blu-ray DVD player, but it was stolen. So now it’s TBD.” The dean tossed his hands up and left the room.

“I want TBD!” Troy exclaimed. “Is that new?”

Jeff stood to leave the study room to head to his car and take a nap, when Annie brough up him and Britta once again, but before he left the library, he sent Britta a text message.

**Pointy Jackass:** **_hey meet me @ my car n 5m need 2 talk_**

**_Blonde Chick Spanish Class:_ ** _ Y _

**Pointy Jackass:** **_plz_ **

**_Blonde Chick Spanish Class:_ ** _ fyne _

**_Blonde Chick Spanish Class:_ ** _ FINE! _

Jeff snorted at Britta’s need to self-correct before anyone else had the chance to, and knew that if it hadn’t been for Annie, if he had never locked eyes with the gorgeous, petite, curvy, driven, dedicated, determined, intelligent, caring, loving…  _ fucking perfect _ brunette all those months ago, that he’d probably still be in pursuit of Britta. Probably still have the hots for her and would be looking for any opportunity to have sex with her as it was…

“What do you want jackass?” Britta asked with a smirk, as she crossed her arms. “I want to meet the rest of the group in the quad in a bit.

Jeff nodded, looking over her head to see if any more of the group had followed her… okay, honestly? He was checking to see if Annie were around. He didn’t want her to be there in order to hear what he had to say.

He scratched the back of his head. “So uh… I don’t exactly know how to say this. But um…”

“You’re not interested in me. You don’t think of me in any type of sexual way whatsoever. And though the group thinks we have sexual tension, it’s really just the fact that you’re sexually and romantically frustrated by Annie and you direct it towards me, because you know I can take it and won’t expect anything from you,” Britta stated, her head tilted to the side, a small smile on her lips.

Jeff blinked stupidly at her, then nodded. “Uhhh… yeah. All of that exactly. How did you… how did… How?”

Britta laughed. “Professor Duncan. We talked about you in one of my sessions. He wanted to know how I felt about you and our threads.”

Jeff frowned. “Why?”

Britta hesitated, and glanced away, her face turning pink. “You’re not the only one who found their  **gold, purple, black,** and  **silver** thread person here at Greendale, Jeff.”

He stared at her in confusion for a moment, then he gasped and shook his head. “You and  _ Ian _ ?”

Britta snorted and shoved him. “No assface. Me and Troy!”

Jeff’s head jerked back, and he lifted his eyes in surprise at that little revelation. “Whoa, really?”

She nodded. “Yeah. But like you and Annie, neither of us is really ready to  _ do _ anything about it. I mean, him and Abed have  **gold** and  **black** threads, so you know, they were destined to be friends, and we all have  **green** threads with each other, in some way, which means we’ve all become family, but Troy’s still pretty young, and me? I’m… still kind of broken. Or damaged. Just… neither of us thinks it’s the right  _ time _ for it. You know. To be tying knots in threads and shit.”

Jeff nodded, then folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against his car. “So what are you saying? That it’s not the right time for me and Annie? That I should wait? Let her grow up? Fix myself?”

Britta looked at him like he was stupid, and in that moment, Jeff sort of felt like he was.

“No, idiot! I was talking about me and Troy! We wouldn’t survive if we got together right now, but you and Annie? You’re so stupidly desperate for her, so scared to screw things up, that I think you would be the absolute  _ perfect _ boyfriend, because you know you couldn’t handle her leaving you. And Annie? She’s a planner, an organizer, a perfectionist, and the biggest researching student, nerd person I’ve ever met. She’d probably research everything that could go wrong, and talk everything out with you, and she just flat out wouldn’t  _ let _ you guys fail.” Britta punched him in the shoulder. “What I’m telling you is, Annie is  _ obviously _ perfect for you. That’s why she’s your  **gold** thread. If you don’t grab her now, start dating her, or propose to her, marry her, or at least put a baby in her now, Vaughn is going to do it, or he’s going to take her away from Greendale, and you’re going to lose your shot, and spend the rest of your life, alone, depressed, and regretting the fact that you never grew a pair, and went after her.”

And with that, Britta spun around on the toes of her black boots, and headed off towards the quad where the Spring Fling was being set up, and other students were gathering. Jeff sighed, and deciding to mull over Britta’s words while he napped, he climbed into his car, slammed the door, and settled back to sleep for an hour.

* * * *

_ Paintball Assassin Year One _

When Jeff woke up in his car an hour later, the entire school was splattered with paint, and in total disarray and chaos.

“What the hell?”

He wandered inside the building and found Garrett, also splattered with paint, groaning in pain. It took Leonard almost shooting him, Abed saving him, then talking to him and Troy in one of the abandoned classroom, the two men overly excited about  _ the prize _ : Priority Registration, to make Jeff join in for the paintball game. While he definitely wanted  _ the prize _ , Jeff wanted to talk to Annie so much more.

“Are the girls playing?” He asked.

“Do you mean Britta?” Troy asked, scowling.

“No I don’t mean Britta. Did I say Britta?”

“Yeah. Twice now.”

Jeff rolled his eyes. “Is Annie playing?”

Abed and Troy shared a look, before Abed answered. “Last I saw her, she was running off with a gun, shooting people as she went.”

Jeff nodded then headed out with the guys, taking out the chess club, and finding the girls in the bathroom. As the group walked outside, their guns raised, looking for other students to take out, Jeff kept looking over at Annie, trying to catch her gaze. They soon found themselves pinned down, and the Glee Club singing “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”. Jeff noticed Annie tensing, and grabbed her before she could stand.

“But, Jeff! That is  _ so _ uninspired!” She hissed. He nodded.

“I agree, but if you stand up, then they’ll shoot you. Instead…” He smirked. “Hey, Pierce! Don’t come over here!”

Just as he knew he would, Pierce being told  _ not _ to do something just made him want to do it even more. As he was splattered with paint, Jeff, Britta, Annie, Shirley, and Abed were able to shoot down the Glee Club, before running off into the cafeteria.

“What are you guys going to do if you win priority registration?” Shirley asked as they huddled around their makeshift fire.

Britta’s suggestion for whoever won to give priority registration to Shirley, was something everyone, except Jeff seemed to agree with. He looked at Annie apologetically when she scoffed at him, but he knew--deep inside of him--that he would end up giving the single mother priority registration if he won, he just couldn’t let  _ them _ know that.

When the rollerbladers, and rollerskaters, came through, shooting wildly at them, Jeff focused on shooting them all one, after the other, after the other. He was only concerned with not getting hit. He knew he could check on the rest of his group after the “enemy” had been dealt with. Once they were all dispatched, Jeff looked around, and saw that only two of them remained.

Jeff and Annie.

They waved goodbye to the rest of their friends--and Pavel--and headed off to the study room when they discovered that Jeff was bleeding.

Tugging off his shirt, Jeff tilted his head back and hissed as Annie poured hydrogen peroxide over the gash on his stomach.

“Annie?”

She didn’t respond. Instead she focused on applying gauze and medical tape over his wound.

“Annie, please,” he whispered.

She looked up at him. “What, Jeff? What do you want?”

He looked at her, his mouth going dry and his brain fuzzy. He could feel their threads thrumming, vibrating, and knew that a change was coming. Knew that their relationship was about to dramatically morph into something else. But he would be damned if they went backwards. Instead, he surged forward and grabbed Annie, pulling her close, one hand on the back of her head, and the other around her waist.

They kissed furiously, hotly, hands moving, tugging off clothes, and then, right there, on the study group’s table…

They came together, their passionate lovemaking solidifying their  **silver** thread, doubling their  **purple** thread, and causing their  **gold** thread to double, and a third one to split and frame each of the other ones. There were so many threads, so much glitter, that when they were finished, Annie’s head resting on his bare chest, hair damp, both of them panting for breath, Jeff  _ knew _ there was no way he was going back.

Which was why he was so confused when, after Annie sacrificed herself so he could win Paintball Assassin, and he gave Shirley a Priority Registration form, he saw Annie walking out of the library quickly…

And straight into Vaughn’s arms.


	6. The Infamous Transfer Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the Greendale Transfer Dance. And it would become infamous. For more reasons than one...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, THANK YOU so much to everyone who wished me well after my surgery! It went very well and I feel sooooooo much better now, even with the intermittent pain.  
> Second of all, I joined the Community Discord and it was so nice to talk to so many of you! Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. I appreciate it, so much.  
> Third of all, I have a few chapters of "Threads" to put up, before we get back on schedule. I have a few chapters of Threads because I was literally DREAMING about his story while I was under during my surgery, and now that I can walk and sit up without pain, I have to write them down. So you all get the benefits of that, and, I know I have to write The Greendale Alpha because... well, I haven't updated it yet, but I am going to follow my muse. "Don't Take The Girl," and "The Former Mrs Winger" are bopping around in my head. LOL. So I hope you enjoy and thank you all again, so much for the comments.

**The Infamous Transfer Dance**

Annie woke up in her bed on the last day of the school year, the day of what would become “The Infamous Transfer Dance”, and promptly burst into tears.

Ever since the game of paintball assassin, Annie closed her eyes every night to the mental picture of Jeff’s face displaying an expression of shock, disappointment, and hurt, as she walked off with Vaughn. And every morning she woke up, and cried, feeling as if she were being ripped apart from the inside out.

_ What the heck am I doing? _

All Annie had wanted, since the moment she’d looked into Jeff’s eyes the first time and their threads had appeared was for him to finally decide that he wanted her. That he was going to…  _ damn _ the age gap, and the whispers, and judgemental comments they were going to receive from Shirley, Pierce, Britta, and everyone else, and just…  _ be _ with her. That they would finally have something real.

That someone would finally love her.

But he’d flirted with other women. And he’d dated Professor Slater--whatever his reasoning might have been--and Annie couldn’t help but feel that, in some other universe, if Britta had been the one to be in the study room with him during Paintball Assassin, he would have slept with her, rather than with Annie.

Which was just an awful way to feel about someone who was your destiny.

The worst thing about the whole situation with Jeff, was that Annie didn’t have anyone she could talk to. Shirley would be judgy and super religious, probably spouting off with:  _ The good Lord made you and Jeffrey for each other. Which means in the eyes of God, the two of you are already married. Dating around and kissing other people just makes you an adulterer, and puts you right on the wide path towards hell _ .

She couldn’t talk to Britta:  _ Why would you even consider a guy who doesn’t respect the threads that say he’s supposed to be committed only to you? That’s why I have a problem with the threads, Annie! They say it’s something given to us by the Creators, but, they seem like the weighty expectations of a patriarchal and puritanical society to try and prevent women from experiencing true sexual liberation and independent thought! _

Annie shuddered lightly as she stepped out of her car. No. Britta was definitely off the list.

Troy was a little too… innocent for the conversation.

Pierce was too… well, he was just  _ too _ .

And Abed was too honest, too blunt, and too into using pop culture references for Annie to be able to talk to him about the situation without wanting to scream.

Which of course left Jeff, and how was she supposed to talk to Jeff about something that dealt with him?

“You look like someone kicked your puppy,” a husky voice which was almost as beautiful as a melody, said from her right. Annie turned her head and looked up at the tall, slender, but curvy medium brown-skinned, African American female who was standing on the steps of the Science Building reading, while balancing a soccer ball on her foot.

Annie’s eyes widened. “Whoa,” she breathed in awe, and the other girl just laughed, kicked the ball in the air, closed her textbook, then caught the ball. Annie had never seen someone as coordinated and talented as the girl in front of her.

“While I love it when people are impressed by my skills,” the unknown girl said, “I was asking you why you looked so sad. Almost everyone is excitedly looking forward to the beginning of summer. Are you one of those people who gets sad when school’s over?”

Annie blushed and pushed her hair back behind her ear as she shrugged. “I mean, I think learning is fun.”

The girl looked around, before she leaned forward and whispered to Annie, “Me too.”

Annie laughed and held out her hand. “Annie Edison.”

“Hello, Annie Edison, Janeesa Potter, but you can call me Jan,” Jan said with a grin.

“Nice to meet you Jan, and I guess I look sad, because I am,” Annie sighed deeply.

Jan tilted her head to the side. “Why? Is it because the semester is over?”

Annie shook her head. “No. It’s because… I found my  **gold** and  **purple** thread.”

Jan gasped, then, gripping Annie’s hand she tugged her down onto the steps and stared at her with wide eyes.

“Tell. Me.  _ Everything _ .”

* * * *

After sharing every detail of her dilemma with Jan, Annie exchanged contact information with the other girl, then headed off across the quad to find Vaughn. After talking with Jan, her new friend, Annie knew what she had to do. It was going to be hard, as a matter of fact, it was going to be the first time she’d ever done it, but it had to be done.

“Annie, my Mountain Flower,” Vaughn sang as she walked up to him.

“Hey, Vaughn. Can we talk?”

“Absolutely.”

She nodded and inhaled deeply, trying to center herself, or whatever the heck it was that Vaughn was always talking about.

“You know I really like you, right, Vaughn?” she asked.

The blond, shirtless, hackeysack playing guy nodded with a sort of crooked smile. “And that feeling is most definitely returned, Mountain Flower.”

Annie gave him a tight smile as he used the cute nickname he’d given her for the second time during their conversation.

_ I feel horrible doing this. Maybe I shouldn’t… _ but before that thought could fully settle, Annie remembered Jan’s words from just moments before…

_ “It’s not fair to any of you. It’s not fair to Jeff. It’s not fair to Vaughn. And it’s not fair to you. Because no matter what you say or what you think, you’re not all in with your relationship with Vaughn, because you have all of these threads, all of these feelings, keeping you connected, keeping you thinking about and returning to Jeff. That’s why the threads are both a blessing and a curse. You can’t run from someone who’s your destiny once you meet them, because that  _ **_gold_ ** _ thread is going to be constantly thrumming and vibrating to remind you. But at the same time… you can’t run from them. You can’t forget them. You can’t really choose someone else. You can try, and you may be successful for a time, but always, there in the back of your mind, always with that little tug on your soul will be that  _ **_gold_ ** _ thread. And in your case those:  _ **_gold, purple, silver, black, green_ ** _ threads _

Annie knew she was right, which was why she had to break up with Vaughn.

* * * *

Jeff pulled up in his Lexus, which had been damaged by an angry Chang recently, thanks to a misunderstanding caused by Annie’s moral compass and her need to keep the study group together, and parked in his saved parking spot right in front of Greendale Community College. It was the last day of the semester. His summer break started the next day and he was looking forward to it, immensely.

First of all, he was going to go to the gym and work out.

Second of all, he was going to get a tan.

Third, he was going to go shopping.

Fourth, he was going to spend the entire summer trying to forget about Annie Edison.

He knew that the fourth item on his list--yeesh, she had him making  _ lists _ now--was going to be difficult, but it was not impossible. By the time they came back for their sophomore year, Jeff was determined to have worked Annie completely out of his system.

_ Threads be damned. _

Of course, when he came upon her talking to Vaughn, wearing a jean jacket, over her sundress her hair looking beautiful, even with the top of it pulled back, a pair of purple heels on her feet, it was a little bit harder for him to believe that it was possible.

_ Dammit. Why does she have to be so fucking beautiful? _

“Wait, Jeff! I’ll walk with you,” she called out to him, and he paused to wait for her.

_ Don’t kiss him, don’t kiss him, please don’t kiss him. _

When Annie touched Vaughn’s arm and gave him a small smile, and the other man nodded back at her, Jeff wasn’t sure if that gesture of… intimacy was better or worse than them making out in front of everyone.

Annie rushed up to his side, with a smile on her face.

“I can’t believe I made it through my first year of college. I finally get to click ‘send’ on so many I-told-you-so emails,” she told him excitedly.

Jeff couldn’t help grinning back at her-- _ God, she’s so adorable-- _ thinking that everyone who got one of those emails would deserve to have their lack of faith in her rubbed in their faces.

“Yeah, it’s pretty great. Not much could ruin today,” he said in return, happy to have her all to himself for once. No study group. No Vaughn. No dean…

_ Ugh. Spoke too soon. _

“Hi!” Dean Pelton exclaimed as he jogged up to them.

“Oh, shoot. I forgot saying that summons him,” Jeff said, rolling his eyes at the other man who still insisted on telling Jeff their thread was silver and not a light black, on an almost daily basis.

“Will you two be attending tomorrow’s transfer ceremony, to send off all the students leaving for so-called  _ real schools _ ?” Dean Pelton asked, using his hands to gesticulate flamboyantly. “There’s a formal dance afterward.”

Jeff frowned. “How many dances is this school gonna have?”

“Five! If you come to all of them, you get one of these,” Dean Pelton said, pulling open his button down shirt, to show a black t-shirt beneath it, with white lettering across the front that said:  _ All 5 Dances _ .

_ Dear god. Are there actually people who want one of those shirts? _

“I assumed your whole posse would be coming to the dance, having heard the exciting news about Britta,” Dean Pelton continued.

Jeff looked at the bald man in confusion, trying not to react when the back of Annie’s hand brushed against his own.

“What news?” Annie asked.

“She’s been nominated to be the Transfer Queen,” Dean Pelton informed them, with an excited expression.

Jeff and Annie came to a halt, before turning to each other and letting a grin spread wide across their faces.

After going back to the study group and teasing Britta about being nominated as the Transfer Queen, and smirking about Dean Pelton calling it the “Tranny Dance”, Jeff found himself confronted by Michelle on his way to try and find Annie.

The professor had dumped him, quite unexpectedly, just before Family Day had begun at Greendale. Though Jeff had been rocked by her decision--he couldn’t remember any woman ever  _ choosing _ to not be with him--he had to admit to a bit of relief that she had done it. He’d known that eventually their relationship would come to an end, he was, after all, merely using Michelle for “boyfriend practice” (which, whenever he actually thought those words or said them alout made him feel like an asshole), but he had expected to be the one to have the talk with her. Not her having it with him.

So walking down the hallway, his eyes scanning for Annie, and instead coming face-to-face with Michelle sort of startled him a bit.

It was even more of a surprise when she’d told him that she had been hasty in dumping him.

“I made a mistake. Maybe we can talk about it sometime. I miss you.”

Jeff had been stunned into silence, but when he turned and saw the swish of a very familiar sundress, his breath caught in his chest. There was no way that life would be that cruel. That he could be  _ that _ cursed, that Annie would happen to come upon Michelle telling him that she wanted him back.

Oh, who was he kidding? Of course his life was that cursed, and  _ of course _ that was Annie.

“Shit.”

* * * *

“Annie! Annie, guess what?”

Annie turned, a cup of beer in her hand--was it her second or her third? She couldn’t remember. She did know that she was feeling very buzzy and…  _ orange _ \--and faced Vaughn.

“I know we’re not together, but I just wanted to tell you that I just got offered a spot on the number one community college Hacky Sack team in the nation!” Vaughn said, a wide grin splitting his face.

“Oh, my god, Vaughn! I’m assuming that’s huge!” Annie said excitedly as she threw her arms around him for a hug.

“Of course it’s huge, are you kidding me? I mean, you know, I’m not into the fame and stuff, but I could be the next Vngwe Mackadangdang, Jr.”

Annie tried to smile as if she were interested--and as if she knew what he was talking about--but she could tell by the gentle, almost deprecating smile on his face, that he knew she didn’t. That was one thing she absolutely would  _ not _ miss about dating Vaughn. Annie Edison was smart. Exceptionally smart. Everyone knew it. Everyone accepted the truth of it. But Vaughn treated her as if she were some child whom he needed to guide through the world because she was filled with innocence and ignorance.

_ Or are you projecting your feelings towards Jeff onto Vaughn, yet again? _ Her subconscious taunted her.

Annie tensed slightly. She didn’t want to think about Jeff. Her “destiny”, her  **gold** thread, the person known in some circles as: her  _ soulmate _ . He’d been in the middle of the hallway with Professor Slater, someone he’d told her he was only dating as “practice” for being with her, talking about the two of them getting back together.

_ No.  _ She _ was talking about it. Jeff was just…  _ standing  _ there. _

Which almost made it worse. Was it because he was considering it? Because he didn’t know about her and Vaughn breaking up? Or…

“There’s one thing, though…” Vaughn said, his face serious, and Annie focused back in on the conversation she was having with him in the middle of the dorm hallway. “The school’s in Delaware.”

Annie nodded. “Well, I mean, Vaughn…”

“I know we just broke up…” Vaughn cut her off, then took one of her hands with his own. “But I think you did it to try and open the door for Jeff, and he just seems like a guy who is too broken, too selfish, too arrogant, and too closed off to ever really accept and embrace whatever threads you have between you.” He reached up to stroke her cheek. “I want you to come with me, Annie. To Delaware.”

* * * *

Jeff was talking to Britta, trying to get her opinion on the best way to make his feelings and intentions known to Annie, when Michelle walked up to them.

“Hi Jeff,” she said, with a coy smile.

Britta frowned and narrowed her eyes at the other woman. She looked back and forth between the two of them.

“Are you two?”

Jeff’s eyes widened and he shook his head furiously. “No!” He said simultaneously with Michelle. She then narrowed her eyes at him and Britta and gestured between them.

“The two of you aren’t…”

“No!” Jeff and Britta both responded quickly.

“No, just friends,” Britta stated.

“Same here,” Michelle replied.

Jeff watched as Britta’s face changed from welcoming to much more threatening and serious.

“Good. For you.”

A part of him felt as if he should interject, remind them both of Annie, the  _ only _ woman with whom he had  **gold, purple, black, green,** and  **silver** threads with, but there was another part, the part which loved the thought of two women fighting over him, that wanted to see how things were going to play out. So he stood by and watched, with bated breath, as Michelle and Britta traded barbs back and forth with each other. His ego grew by leaps and bounds, though it did not compare to the way he felt with Annie. He still allowed them to smile and give each other subtle insults, though Jeff wasn’t sure what was behind Britta’s snark. At least until Shirley rushed over.

“Just did my first keg stand!”

And then he did what he knew he had to, he took care of his friend, walking away from the two women who didn’t even notice that he had gone.

* * * *

The night of the Transfer Dance, because Jeff refused to call it anything else, his breath caught in his lungs when Annie rushed over to the group’s table in the cafeteria. Her hair was down, she wore minimal, if  _ any _ , makeup, and a very low-cut, V-neck purple dress which clung to her curves and swirled around her knees. She looked so mature, so grown up…

Jeff could feel their threads pulsing, and he had to fight his urge to grab her and toss her down onto the table, and ravage her in front of everyone. He had a plan of action. He had things he needed to say.

And he wasn’t leaving that school without saying them.

“Guys! Vaughn got recruited to a college in Delaware… he wants me to go with him for the summer,” Annie said, glancing over at Jeff, before looking away.

Abed tilted his head to the side as he observed Annie’s look of hesitation, and the shock and fear Jeff was sure was stamped on his face.

“Finally, a classic last-day-of-school plot twist,” Abed mused.

“He’s gonna be the next Vngwe Mackadangdang, Jr. It’s a Hacky Sack guy,” Annie told them, still not really looking in Jeff’s direction.

“Hey, you don’t have to tell us who Ingmar Mackadingdong, Jr. is,” Shirley said, a tense smile on her face as she not only butchered the Hacky Sack player’s name, but as she nervously glanced over at Jeff.

Along with everyone else.

Even Annie.

She cleared her throat and tilted her head up. “Jeff? Help me with some refreshments?”

He nodded, and held up a hand to the other members of the group who were gathered around the table. He knew they were worried, or just nosey, wondering what Annie wanted to talk to him about. Wanting to know if he was going to  _ let _ her leave him. Or if he was actually going to fight for her. Hell, he was wondering the same thing, but Jeff Winger, being Jeff Winger, was--for the first time in his life--not only speechless about Annie’s plans for the future, but he couldn’t figure out one way to talk himself  _ out of _ or  _ into _ the thing that he really wanted. Which meant…

Was he going to have to let Annie go, so that she could have whatever it was that she really wanted, just because he wanted to make her happy?

He scoffed to himself. No. No way. That seemed much too selfless and out of character for him. As Abed would say:  _ Your character hasn’t endured enough, grown enough, or experienced enough to be that evolved yet, Jeff. While a part of you definitely wants Annie to be happy, you’re still arrogant and selfish enough to believe that she could only be happy with  _ you, _ and unfortunately, you feel as if the threads justify this belief. _

That’s right! Unlike other relationships, Jeff had the threads on his side. So did he really need to  _ fight _ for Annie, when he knew she respected and honored them way more than he did? He could do nothing and she would  _ always be there _ . Waiting. Just for him.

“Please don’t say anything until I’m finished, Jeff…” Annie pleaded with him, her big, blue eyes shining up at him.

He nodded nonchalantly as he leaned over the snack table to find something he could eat.

“I’ve decided to go with Vaughn to Delaware. But not just for the summer. I’m transferring with him.”

Jeff blinked as cold heat spread through his limbs. His heart raced, his stomach clenched, and his mouth went dry.

“What?” He blinked at her. “When did you decide that?”

“I spent three months researching backpacks before I chose the one that I use now. I spent months researching and talking to others about threads and relationships and soulmates. Trying to find out what they meant and if it was inevitable, if they were a guarantee that the people involved wouldn’t hurt each other, or wouldn’t be hurt themselves, only to have you choose someone else to date, and then for me to do the same. I did all of that research… for nothing. I don’t want to be that person anymore.” Annie shook her head and smiled up at him. “I want to live in the moment.”

Jeff opened his mouth to say…  _ something _ , something that would tell her how he felt. That would convince her to stay… But he couldn’t think of anything. His mind was blank. His trusty wordbank of key phrases and “Winger speeches” that he always went back to in order to get what he wanted, by saying the  _ exact  _ right thing, was surprisingly empty. He looked down into Annie’s face. Took notice of her big, innocent, hopeful eyes, that was underlined with a steely, determined edge he’d only ever seen during the debate, paintball, and when she’d briefly been campus security, and her close-lipped, wide grin and nodded. Even as he felt his heart shatter into a million pieces in the cavity of his chest. As he felt a pain he knew that no amount of Scotch, or working out, or sleeping with other women could ease, Jeff Winger committed what he thought was the ultimate grand gesture.

“You better visit,” he said, his throat thick with emotion.

“Whoa!” Troy gasped as he came up to the snack table behind Annie. “I can’t believe nobody’s taken this cookie!” He grabbed the giant cookie and walked off, a look of amazement, dedication, hunger, and a touch of greed plastering itself to the young man’s face.

Annie looked at Troy, then back at Jeff with concern. Jeff could only shake his head and shrug.

* * * *

Jeff stared at Michelle and Britta in concern as they both wiped at his face. He needed to do something about this… petty rivalry and fast, before Britta felt compelled to do something for which they would both be sorry. He pushed both of their hands away and stared at them in confusion.

“Hey! Ladies? Cleanest face ever,” he assured them. He went to walk off, but glanced up when he heard the unmistakable  _ flip flop _ of inappropriate footwear.

_ Vaughn _ .

He rushed over to the side of the cafeteria where the rest of the group waited, and took Shirley off to the side to speak to her.

“What do I do?” He asked her, feeling frantic for the first time in his life.

“About what?” Shirley asked, an all-knowing and smug expression on her face.

“I believe that Jeff has only just realized that while his actions appeared altruistic, when he didn’t protest Annie going to Delaware with Vaughn, he doesn’t in fact mean it. It’s not necessarily that his motives are purely selfish, but also that he realizes how empty and drab his life would be without Annie in it.” Abed tilted his head to the side. “You are the quintessential bad boy, main hero in every romantic comedy and romantic drama trope. You need Annie in order to evolve. In order to truly love and to love others, to love us, the study group and family of your choice, you need her to help you get there.”

“Oohh! Jef-frey! Is that true?” Shirley’s voice was lilting as she cooed with excitement.

Jeff rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat. “Um… yeah. Maybe. Yeah. Whatever. Look! Help me. She’s going to be leaving here with Tiny Nipples unless I do something to stop her from doing that,” he pleaded, using the nickname that he and Shirley had used for the guy who was once Britta’s boyfriend.

“I’ve already told you, Jeff. A situation of this magnitude requires a grand gesture,” Abed stated firmly, pointing at Jeff.

“Exactly, Jef-frey. Perhaps you could ask Britta to help you when she wins Transfer Queen?” Shirley suggested.

Jeff pondered her words for a moment before tugging Britta over to him.

“Hey. I need a favor…”

* * * *

Annie thanked Vaughn when he picked up her bags, and after sliding her backpack on her shoulders, she rubbed her sweaty palms down the fabric of her dress.

She was doing the right thing. She knew she was. Jeff would never accept and embrace their threads. He would never commit to her. She knew it. Heck,  _ he _ knew it. It was why he had needed to practice dating with Michelle first. And when it hadn’t worked out, though he had slept with Annie, he still hadn’t taken the time to claim her.

So she was leaving Greendale. She was leaving Colorado, and she was headed off to Delaware.

With Vaughn.

Her ex.

Though, who knew, she’d probably start dating him again after they’d traveled a few hours.

_ Who could really plan that though? _

_ Oh wait… I can. I’m planning even as I’m talking about living in the moment. But, no. No. I can do this. I can live in the moment. That’s the only reason why I’m leaving. Is because I want to live. Because I want to belong. Otherwise, I would stay. Right? _

“You guys are leaving already?” Abed asked.

“Yeah, gotta be in Delaware by tomorrow night,” Vaughn answered.

Annie tried to keep the smile on her face, but she could feel her threads vibrating. Not only the ones which connected her to Jeff, but the ones that connected her to all of her friends.

Her family.

They vibrated, and stretched, twisted, but never frayed.

Annie was thankful for that.

Glad to know that no matter where she went, she would always have these six people to turn to. She hurried over to Troy who gave her a high-five, offered Pierce a handshake when he tried to go in for a hug. She stayed noticeably silent when Shirley said she’d see her in the fall, instead she merely hugged the other woman sadly. She smiled and did the weird “almost-not-quite-a-handshake” handshake that she and Abed had come up with, and then there was Jeff. And though she’d heard about time freezing when two people’s threads first form, in that moment, Annie knew that time had stopped, and it was just her and Jeff.

She offered him a sad smile, and he offered her one in return, but when he went in to hug him…

_ Don’t go, _ Annie heard Jeff’s voice, but it sounded as if it were on the wind. Surrounding them. A plea from his soul.

A cry from his heart.

_ Please don’t leave me. _

_ I need you. Please don’t leave me, Annie. _

_ Please. _

_ Please. _

_ Please. _

And those threads which had already been doing weird things since the moment the two of them met, wrapped themselves once more around the two of them. Pulling them flush against one another. Allowing Annie to hear Jeff’s heartbeat. To feel his chest move with every breath that he took.

To realize that both were in sync with her own.

She pushed away from him, and shook her head, tears in her eyes.

“I’m gonna miss you.”

Annie nodded at him and took another step away.

“I’m gonna miss you too.”

She gave Britta a quick hug, then rushed out of the building before anyone could say anything else to her. Before she could rethink her decision. Before she changed her mind.

_ I can’t believe he didn’t try to stop me. _

* * * *

Britta Perry did not believe in love.

Well… she didn’t believe that it existed for her.

While she knew she had her own threads that connected her to Troy, she knew that neither of them were ready to fully acknowledge or deal with them. So how could love be real if there was such a thing as a “bad time” for it?

But regardless of her own feelings, she did believe in a few things:

She believed that global warming was bad.

She believed that cats were superior to dogs (it was true, people just didn’t like to admit it because cats made people think about the word: pussycat, which made people think of vaginas, which naturally intimidated most men.).

She believed that wars were horrible.

She believed that all men were pigs and shouldn’t be allowed to run governments or businesses.

She believed that corporations controlled a lot more than people wanted to admit that they did.

She believed that most “-isms” were horrific (womanism, racism, fascism, capitalism, just to name a few).

She believed that Shirley had deluded herself into believing that her ex-husband was her  **gold** thread, but that there was no way a man could cheat on a woman whom he believed was really his destiny. Which meant that Shirley either lied, or was mistaken.

And she believed that Annie Edison and Jeff Winger belonged together.

Which meant she, Britta Perry, was going to have to do something drastic to push those two idiots together.

And as she watched Michelle walk over to a still dazed and confused Jeff, whose eyes were trained on the doors by which Annie had just run through, before she put her lips on his to kiss him, Britta knew it was going to have to be big enough to jolt him out of whatever fog he was in.

_ Oh god. I hope Troy forgives me. _

“Jeff Winger! Do not get back together with Slater,” Britta yelled into the microphone as she rushed back to grab it from the dean.

Her words caused everyone in the cafeteria to stop and stare up at her, before looking back at Jeff, who blinked at her, before he turned to blink at Michelle Slater who looked more than a little smug.

“I know someone who loves you!” Britta practically screamed, wincing when the microphone cut out and in as she was speaking.

_ Oh shit. It just sounded as if I said I loved him! _

She saw the anger that rolled over Troy’s face and her eyes, inexplicably filled with tears. Jeff blinked and shook his head, before he walked over to her.

“First of all, I’m flattered. Second, have you ever heard of e-mail? You  _ love _ me?” He asked staring at her in confusion.

Britta rolled her eyes. “Jeff, do you love me?”

He shook his head. “No! You know that I…”

Britta quirked an eyebrow as she stared at him and he nodded.

“Wait! Can I say something?” Michelle rushed over to them. “Jeff, I love you.”

Britta rolled her eyes. “I wonder where she got  _ that _ from.”

“What, you have a patent on loving people?”

“Would you like a patent in getting your ass kicked?” Britta asked, anger ripping through her stomach. “Trying to take Annie’s  **gold** thread.  _ Bitch _ .”

_ Ugh. I hate her. So much. She better be glad she’s just trying to steal my friend’s man and not mine, otherwise… _

Britta looked for Troy, but couldn’t find him, and sadness replaced the anger. Jeff held up his hands, and pointed at Michelle. “Can you just, um, go stand over there?” He turned to Britta. “And, can you sit down, please?”

Everyone in the crowd started to shout out their choices, but Britta could hear certain people calling out Annie’s names. They were mostly members of the study group, and those from their Spanish class who knew about Jeff and Annie’s threads. She wanted to interject, to correct everyone who thought she was competing for Jeff’s affections, but everytime she opened her mouth to do so, she saw Michelle. Staring at her. Looking triumphant.

As if she had already won.

_ C’mon Jeff. Do the right thing. Dump Michelle and go after Annie. _

* * * *

“It’s been a-a great year,” Jeff began speaking. He accepted the microphone from the dean, and took the stage. He shook his head and when Leonard asked who he was speaking, Jeff shook his head.

When Ian came up on stage and took the microphone from Jeff, and began rapping, Jeff went over to the side of the room. But when he and Chang began fighting, that was when he made his escape. He glanced away from Michelle’s look of surprise, and when he looked at Britta, he offered her a smile and mouthed “ _ Thanks _ ” to her. She smiled, then turned and hurried off to speak to Troy.

A part of Jeff wanted to go and sort things out for the two of them, but he had more important things to do.

He had to go and catch up with…

_ Annie. _

“I thought you left,” he said in surprise as he found himself walking towards Annie, still dressed in her purple dress, her bags on her shoulders.

“I couldn’t go,” she confessed, and Jeff felt his heart soar in his chest.

_ It’s not too late. _

_ It’s not too late. _

“What happened?” He asked.

“I guess, as we were driving away, I finally started living in the moment. And I realized that, in the moment, in this moment, I belong here. At Greendale.” She looked up at him. “With you.”

As she leaned up and pressed her lips against his, Jeff moaned, and wrapped his hands around her hips. He tugged her against him.

“And I belong with you,” he told her, his lips pressed against hers.

They kissed and kissed, their hands clutching one another, pressing tighter and tighter together, until Leonard’s voice interrupted their impromptu makeout session.

“Hey Winger! Why don’t you two get a room?”

Jeff pulled away, and ran his fingers through Annie’s hair, pushing it back behind her ear, staring down into her big, blue, Disney eyes.

“How about it?”

Annie scoffed. “You want to go get a room, Jeff?”

He chuckled and shook his head.

“No. I want to take you back to my place. Remember? You gave up your place to go and run off with the great, unwashed hippie--”

“Jeff!”

“And until you find another place, or we just decided to, you know…  _ live _ together, then you might as well stay with me,” he offered, hoping he looked and sounded as nonchalant as he was trying to be.

Annie tilted her head to the side as she observed him.

“I don’t know if we’re ready to live together just yet, Jeff,” she mused.

“You have a better idea?” He asked.

Annie bit her lower lip. “Yes, but you may not like it…”

Jeff narrowed his eyes. “What?”

“Shirley offered to let me stay with her when I sent her a text message and told her I wasn’t going to Delaware with Vaughn…”

Jeff closed his eyes with a groan. “Shirley…”

Annie nodded and leaned up to press another kiss to his lips.

“But we have at least an hour or two before she’ll expect me to be home…”

Jeff gave her a wolfish smile, before he gathered up her bags, and dragged her off to his Lexus. If they only had a couple of hours, he was going to make sure that they count.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have chapters coming about the Greendale Seven during the summer, mostly focusing on Jeff and Annie, just fyi, but everyone else does make an appearance. Especially Ms Bennett, with whom Annie now lives...  
> Yeah, can you say DRAAAMMMMAAAAAA!!!!!


	7. Results And Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff and Annie, who have newly embraced their thread-connection, now have to face the consequences of their actions from paintball...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have like one more chapter that I'd basically written (but haven't edited) from when I was recuperating, and then one chapter for "Don't Take The Girl" and then we should be back on schedule! Saturday is The Former Mrs. Winger, then The Greendale Alpha, then His Grace, and so on...
> 
> Oh! And I got asked, yes Threads is a series. This is Jeff & Annie, but there are other thread connections happening at the edges if you pay attention. There are 3 others that are a part of this series (Threads: Britta & Troy (and Abed)), and then I plan to do a part that's basically fluff and smut one-shots.
> 
> Thank you so much for the comments!

**Results and Consequences**

The sound of loud, joyful, harmonious music woke Annie up with a start, and for a moment, she looked around the room she was in, in confusion. Then it all hit her like a train.

_Agreeing to go to Delaware with Vaughn._

_Saying goodbye to everyone._

_Saying goodbye to Jeff._

_Being able to hear Jeff’s heart and soul (which was weird)._

_Changing her mind about Delaware._

_Getting out of Vaughn’s car, when he dropped her back off at the school._

_Texting Shirley._

_Running into Jeff._

_Kissing Jeff._

_Talking to Jeff._

_Going back to Jeff’s house._

_Having sex with Jeff._

_Taking a shower with Jeff._

_Eating eggs whites on the counter, while wearing Jeff’s shirt, as he kissed and nibbled on her shoulder, wearing only his expensive pair of boxer briefs, his muscles on display._

_Making love with Jeff on said counter._

_Helping Jeff clean the counter afterwards._

_Making out with Jeff on the couch._

_Letting Jeff take her to Shirley’s._

_Kissing Jeff goodbye at the front door._

_Smiling at Shirley, when the older woman let her inside with a “Hmmph,” a “Mmhhmm,” and a “Goodbye Jeffrey.”_

_Silently squealing at the text message she got from Jeff just before she went to sleep._

Looking over at her phone which was plugged into the electric socket behind the nightstand dresser, next to the bed, Annie quickly picked it up, and scrolled past all of the messages from the rest of the study group and giggled as she got to Jeff’s.

**Jeff: Goodnight, princess.**

**_Annie: Goodnight, my prince._ **

**Jeff: I’m nobody’s prince, least of all yours.**

**_Annie: You’re whatever I say you are, mister._ **

**Jeff: Yes ma’am.**

**_Annie: That’s right. :-) But what do you want me to call you?_ **

**Jeff: Yours. And you’re my forever, right?**

**_Annie: Absolutely._ **

**Mine: Resolved?**

**_Forever: Resolved._ **

Annie still couldn’t believe it. After months of wondering, stressing, pondering, second-guessing, and worrying, the man who she was meant to spend the rest of her life with, had finally decided that it was time for them to be together. She was finally going to be loved, and get to love someone in return.

The gospel music being played downstairs got louder.

Now she just had to do something about the mother hen who was trying to both stop her from having any fun with said man, and also force them into getting married, _way_ before they were ready.

While simultaneously trying to convert them both to Christianity.

It was exhausting.

So exhausting that were it not for the nausea currently threatening to run free from her body without her permission, Annie probably would not have gotten out of bed. But as it was…

She slammed open her bedroom door and ran from the guest bedroom, and its multitude of crosses and paintings of Christ on the wall, and down the hall to the guest bathroom. She raced in, threw up the toilet lid, fell to her knees and…

_Ugh. Kill me._

“So, how far along do you think you are, An-nie?”

* * * *

Jeff wiped the sweat from his face and scowled at his front door. Someone couldn’t take a hint. He’d been trying to workout and today was ab and pecs day. It was a very important day. Especially now that he had a very specific woman for him to look good for.

 _A very beautiful, very_ young _woman._

Jeff scoffed at his internal voice. It sounded a lot like his father’s voice, and never thought he did anything right. Thanks to the therapist he was going to see--okay, he’d only gone once, and really, there wasn’t much to change about him, so really, he didn’t see why he would have to go back--he knew that voice was simply his internal anxieties and fears.

Regardless, while he was trying to stay as perfect as he usually was, his phone had been going off with missed phone calls and text messages. He had ignored them all, knowing that he was focused on something a lot more important than talking to anyone. But apparently, said person didn’t plan on being ignored, and had thereby shown up at his place.

 _It’s either Abed, Troy, or Pierce_.

One of the two younger men because they always had a habit of showing up without calling first. Or Pierce, who would probably be looking for Troy.

 _Or it could be Annie_.

His girlfriend. His destiny.

His **gold** thread.   
Excitement at seeing her after spending hours with her, sweaty, naked, their hands grasping, kissing each other furiously, panting each other’s names, and screaming out their pleasure after leaving the Transfer Dance, had him finally rushing over to the door. He didn’t fully wipe himself dry of all his sweat, wanting to see the moment when Annie would notice his sweaty, naked torso, bit his lower lip, and squeal.

_Oh, this is gonna be hot. I wonder if we can have sex against the wall._

He tugged open the door, a sexy smirk on his face, which dropped immediately when he was smacked with a large, leather handbag.

“Jeffrey! How could you?” Shirley screeched.

“Whoa! Shirley! What the hell?” He grunted as he was smacked with her purse again.

“Shirley! Stop!” Jeff heard Annie’s high-pitched voice, and he looked towards her with a wide-eyed gaze.

“Annie? What the fuck is going on?” He asked, he grabbed Shirley’s arm, and snatched her purse from her hands, tossing it behind him onto the couch.

“Shirley is overreacting and jumping to conclusions,” Annie said through gritted teeth, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Jeff turned to address her fully, but stopped when he noticed that her skin was paler than usual, her hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and she looked… sick.

Ignoring his initial reaction which told him to run from any possibility of contamination--he had to protect his body, after all--Jeff stepped towards her.

“Annie? What’s wrong?” He asked.

She waved her hand. “Nothing, Jeff. I just think that I contracted a stomach bug at the dance. I mean…” She shrugged and let out a nervous laugh. “It is Greendale, after all.”

Jeff wanted to laugh with her, but the glare Shirley sent him gave him pause.

“Is your ‘ _stomach bug_ ’ what Shirley is overreacting and jumping to conclusions about?” Jeff asked Annie, keeping his gaze trained on Shirley who watched him with a narrow-eyed glare and a clenched jaw.

“Oh please, Jef-frey!” Shirley growled. “Annie told me how the two of you… _canoodled_ on the table in the study room!”

Jeff rolled his eyes. “It’s called having sex, Shirley. We’re all adults here. No need to use G-rated vocabulary.” He stepped closer to her, no longer afraid of being whacked with her purse now that he’d thrown the leather weapon across the room. Leaning down towards her, he wiggled his eyebrows. “As a matter of fact, you could even say that Annie and I fu--”

“Jeff!” Annie gasped and ran into his apartment fully, throwing her hand up over his lips. “You can’t say that word!”

“He definitely can’t. Not if he doesn’t want me to go into my bra and pull out my .32,” Shirley stated.

Jeff’s eyes widened and he stepped away from Shirley, tugging Annie with him, and pushing her behind him in a gesture of protection.

“You’re carrying a gun around in your bra?”

Shirley rolled her eyes. “Oh, Jef-frey! I am a black, single mother who has just taken in a young woman. Between the two of us and my two boys, we are sitting ducks out here in Colorado. No matter how good of a neighborhood someone lives in--and mine is pretty good, I’ll tell you that--if you look vulnerable, then people will try to take advantage of you.” She quirked an eyebrow at him. “Something I’d think you would be extremely aware of.” She turned to look at Annie and back at him.

Jeff sighed in exasperation and gestured for the two women to come in and sit down. He was aware of his heart pounding in his chest, and his mouth being slightly dry. It was the same way he used to feel before he had to go to court for a case, back in those glorious days when he was still a lawyer.

_What was it his therapist had called it again?_

Fear of the Unknown and Unexpected.

He wasn’t as opposed to change like some people he knew--Abed--but he was like most humans and he didn’t like it. So he was justified in being a tad nervous about the results of this conversation. Or the possible results.

Results.

Positive.

Pregnant.

Overcome with anxiety and nervousness, though he’d never admit to it, once Annie and Shirley had settled on the couch in his apartment, Jeff paced back and front of them. He rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat.

“Jeff…” Annie said his name hesitantly.

“Just uh, gimme a sec, Annie…” he muttered, his mind swirling with chaotic thoughts.

“Jef-frey,” Shirley said cloyingly, sounding a bit nervous.

“I’m going to need a bigger place. This apartment is only one bedroom, we’re going to need a nursery. And then we’re going to need to look into daycare, and…”

He came to an abrupt halt when Annie jumped up and pointed around, a hand over her mouth.

“Bathroom?” He asked. She nodded and he directed her with frantic pointing in the direction she should go.

He stood in the middle of his living room, watching as she took off towards the restroom. He winced as the sound of her throwing up violently reached his ears. She sounded a bit as if she were being tortured. Murdered. Dismembered.

_Holy shit. My walls are really thin._

“Holy shit,” he breathed, his heart pounding harder in his chest. It felt as if his lungs were being squeezed in a vice, and he bent over, placing his hands on his knees as he tried desperately to take in some air.

“Breathe, Jef-frey,” Shirley encouraged him, as she stepped up beside him, rubbing her hand up and down his back. “An-nie hasn’t actually had it confirmed yet. She only took one test and it was kind of an old one…”

Jeff stood up and glared at Shirley.

“Wait. We’re operating on a faulty pregnancy test?” He rolled his eyes. Then without speaking another word, he turned and walked out of his apartment, grabbing his wallet and keys on the way.

* * * *

Six.

Six tests later and Jeff, Shirley, and Annie all stood around his coffee table, staring down at the tests which all rested on their boxes. None of them speaking.

_Positive._

_Positive._

_Positive._

_Positive._

_Positive._

_Positive._

_Six tests._

_All positive._

“I think I need to make an appointment with a doctor!” Annie exclaimed, her eyes wide and her voice unnaturally high.

“Annie. Six tests say that you’re pregnant. That you’re having a--that _we’re_ having a--” Jeff shook his head. “It’s six different brands. From six different companies. I don’t think you could have six false positives.”

Annie narrowed her eyes at him. “You don’t know my body, Jeff!”

He turned and looked at her, smirking just a bit as he allowed his gaze to travel the length of her body. When her face turned bright red with embarrassment, Jeff’s smirk turned into a full-fledged grin.

Shirley cleared her throat and looked back and forth between the two of them.

“While I agree with Jef-frey that it’s not likely that you have six false positive pregnancy tests, An-nie, I also agree that you need to make an appointment with a doctor,” Shirley stated. “You need to get on prenatal vitamins, make sure everything’s okay, find out about how far along you are…”

Jeff turned to look at Annie and knew they were on the same page. They were going to head to the doctor and see if they accepted walk-ins, and if not they would schedule an appointment. And they would go together.

Without Shirley.

“And then once you two find out everything, you’ll know how soon you need to set your wedding date.”

Jeff grunted and turned to look at Shirley. “How soon we need to do, what now?”

“Don’t you play with me Jeff Winger,” Shirley stated, her voice losing its _baby talk_ tone and sounding extremely _momesque_ . “You got this young girl pregnant. Now I know you like to pretend as if you’re selfish and don’t care about anyone other than yourself, but we all know differently. And while I didn’t think you two were ready to live together before, there’s a baby involved now. It’s not just you being **thread-connected** to some beautiful, young brunette. This isn’t about what _could_ happen in the future. This is about what _is_ happening _now_ . The two of you have a baby on the way. It’s not just the two of you, it’s the three of you now. So you need to start acting like the adult, and the _man_ , I know you can be.” She stood up and pointed at him, before grabbing Annie’s arm and practically dragging her to the front door.

“You’re going to marry Annie before this baby is born. You can either do it with a smile, or you can wait until I get the rest of the group involved and do it then.”

“Shirley! I--”

Annie’s words were cut off as Shirley slammed the door behind them, and Jeff sat on his couch, his mouth hanging open. Speechless. He was usually able to talk himself out of or into anything, and he knew he would be able to do the same this time as well. But he just had to figure out what he was talking himself out of.

And what he was going to talk himself into.

He turned to look at his coffee table, a knot in his stomach as the various lines, pluses, _It’s A Baby, Yes,_ pink screens, and _Positives_ , stared back at him silently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annie's pregnant! For those of you wondering if this is going to affect her and Jeff... obviously it is. But one of the things I always noticed was how Jeff and Annie acted a lot like a married/engaged couple in season 2 (I know, I know "The Annie of it All", one of the biggest was how it looked like Jeff & Annie were hosting Shirley's baby shower together. So a lot of this hinges on those scenes and episodes.  
> But I don't want you guys thinking that they're out of the woods, there's some angst and some heartbreak coming. And just because someone is a soulmate, doesn't mean that you won't have problems with them. And Jeff and Annie are going to prove that.  
> Anyway, thanks for reading!!


	8. Red and White Threads...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie and Jeff go to the doctor... and Shirley goes into Mama Bear mode.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the comments and the encouragement! I am so glad that everyone enjoyed the Transfer Dance chapter, and the direction that the story is going in, now. I hope you enjoy reading this one just as much. We're basically back on schedule now, so my next upload is Don't Take The Girl.

**Red and White Threads...**

**Shirley:** Good morning everyone! This is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

 **Britta:** _Ugh. Shirley. Iz 2 eerly 4 God taulk right know._

 **Troy:** _Can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I agree with Britta._

 **Abed:** _A broken watch is right twice a day..._

 **Shirley:** Excuse me? It is NEVER too early to talk about God. But that is neither here nor there. I will simply pray extra hard for your souls today. This is about something serious.

 **Troy:** _More serious than you praying for our souls? Seriouser? More seriouser?_

 **Abed:** _It’s the summer, Shirley. No major plot or character developments happen during the summer, so whatever it is can no doubt wait until we’re all back in the study room at Greendale._

 **Britta:** _Yah. Esp b/c Im on my way out the kountry._

 **Troy:** _Where are you going?_

 **Abed:** _This is really a conversation the two of you should be having without the rest of us. You’re not the main couple of this season. Jeff and Annie were. No doubt it was due to Jeff’s need to grow. To learn how to love other people. To discover what it means to have true friends. And Annie’s ability to teach him. You two will no doubt be the main couple soon, but I’m not ready to delve into that aspect of myself romantically or in a friendship manner, so we’ll have to wait._

 **Shirley:** Okay. We’ll deal with that later and I don’t have much time before Andre will be here. We need to help Annie and Jeff.

 **Abed:** _Why? According to Leonard they reconciled._

 **Britta:** _Whut did L say?_

 **Abed:** _He saw the two of them making out after the Transfer Dance outside._

 **Shirley:** Yes. They have become official, but they’ve also figured out that Annie is pregnant. About 8 weeks along.

 **Troy:** How long was the Transfer Dance?!

 **Britta:** _Srsly?_

 **Shirley:** Yes. Six tests confirmed it. And they’re headed to the doctor today to get it confirmed.

 **Abed:** _I don’t know if our group is ready for a baby._

 **Troy:** _I don’t even know how to change a diaper!_

**Britta:**

**Shirley:**

**Abed:**

**Troy:**

No one said anything for a long time. All of them too stunned by Shirley’s announcement to do anything but stare at their phones. And then…

**Pierce:** I’m amazed Winger could even get Big Boobs pregnant. Aren’t the gays usually turned off by naked women?

***** ***** ***** *****

**Mine: r u ready**

**_Forever: Of course I am, Jeff. I’ve been ready for an hour._ **

**Mine: but appt is @ 10 its 9**

**_Forever: And your point is???_ **

**Mine: nuthin**

**_Forever: Are you okay?_ **

**Mine: ofc**

**_Forever: We’re going to need to talk, no matter what the doctor says._ **

**Mine: i no but no mtr what im not lvg u we r 2gether 4eva edison**

**_Forever: I wouldn’t have it any other way, Winger._ **

***** ***** ***** *****

Annie’s leg wouldn’t stop bouncing no matter how many times she smoothed her hands down the skirt of her dress. She hoped that she’d chosen an appropriate outfit for the appointment. Her purple cardigan was one of her favorites, and the sundress she wore was white, with a sweetheart neckline, and purple and red flowers on it. She wore a pair of purple ballet flats, a pearl necklace, and she’d put a pair of pearls in her ears. She’d tried to look a little more… adult than usual--especially considering where they were going--so she’d put her hair in loose curls, and her cardigan was wrapped around her shoulders and held together by one button at the top.

She looked like her mother.

She shuddered as she looked at herself in the mirror of Jeff’s car on the passenger’s seat visor once again, and ignored Jeff’s chuckle beside her.

“Annie, you’re beautiful, you can stop fussing,” he said, before looking at himself in the rearview mirror and winking at his own image.

Annie rolled her eyes and huffed out a breath. “I fear for our child’s ego,” she muttered, stopping abruptly as she realized her words.

They both sat in the car. Locked in their own quiet bubble. The air was tense, fraught with an unembraced truth, fear, hesitation, and the weight of unexpected responsibility. Annie wasn’t sure how long the two of them sat there. Staring at each other. Neither of them speaking. Breathing each other in, skin tingling, hearts pounding. It was just like the moment they first made love. And every time since. Only this time there was something else there. An added presence. 

As if they knew they weren’t alone.

Annie expected to be scared by this realization and yet…

_I think I’m excited to be having his baby._

“You are?” Jeff asked.

“You heard me?” Annie gasped.

Jeff’s head tilted slightly to the side and he smiled at her. “Annie, you said it out loud.”

Annie covered her mouth with another shocked gasp. “Oops.” She turned her head and grabbed the door handle, making sure to focus on keeping her mouth closed. She had way too many thoughts swirling in her head for her to accidentally let one slip out between her lips.

_Like the fact that I’m not entirely sure that this baby is Jeff’s…_

* * * *

“Miss Edison?”

The sound of the nurse’s voice, calling her back into one of the examination rooms, pulled Annie from the internal chasm she’d mentally fallen in. She and Jeff had walked into the clinic, signed in, and sat silently against the wall. Neither of them had spoken, Jeff once again attached to his phone, staring at the screen as if it possessed the keys to life, the universe, and having the perfect hairstyle and abs combo.

Usually Annie would have been annoyed, bothered, and more than a little huffy about the fact that Jeff wasn’t actively engaged in their surroundings and what they were in the middle of doing. But she had to admit that his self-centeredness and lack of situational awareness worked in her favor. Since the moment that Shirley had suggested, or hinted at the fact that Annie might’ve been pregnant, Annie had been slowly but surely having an internal freakout. While she knew it benefitted Shirley, Jeff, and even Annie to just naturally assume that the baby was Jeff’s, Annie knew that there was a possibility it was Vaughn’s.

They hadn’t had sex too often, and their relationship had stayed platonic and non-physical a lot longer than everyone suspected, but they did have sex around the same time as Paintball Assassin, when she’d slept with Jeff. And while Jeff was the only one she’d had sex with, without the benefit of a condom--her mother would be _so_ proud of her if she knew--Annie knew that most condoms were only 97 percent effective. And Vaughn had been prone to use the “environmentally friendly,” “hemp-like,” “nature-friendly,” and lambskin condoms. Which were actually more effective than latex condoms, at least the lambskin ones were, but the one time they tried hemp condoms… when was that?

“Annie?” Jeff’s voice punctured the fog that Annie was in, and she blinked and looked up at him. He gestured with his head at the waiting nurse.

Annie gasped and jumped to her feet.

“Oh! I’m so sorry! My mind was wandering,” she babbled as she hurried towards the older woman, Jeff following close behind her.

Annie was weighed, and her blood pressure was taken, then some blood and urine, before she was told to change into a hospital gown and she was left alone with Jeff once again. She fiddled with the fabric of the gown, and shuffled her feet. Looking around the examination room, she couldn’t find a screen to change behind, and she gently lay the gown down on the hospital bed in front of her.

“Why, Annie Edison…” Jeff smirked at her. “Are you nervous about changing in front of me?” He asked her and chuckled slightly. “Even now? After everything?” He rose from the chair he’d been sitting in and stepped over to her, one side of his lips curling upwards in his signature smirk, even as his own blue eyes darkened and he allowed his gaze to sweep her form up and down. He reached out and took hold of the button of her cardigan, freeing it and slipping it off her shoulders. He stroked his fingers down the skin of her arms, and Annie shivered at the seductive sensation.

He leaned down and pressed his nose into the juncture of her neck and shoulder, breathing her in deeply. He nuzzled the skin there and Annie giggled breathlessly and moaned as Jeff pressed kisses up and down her throat to below her ear, before sucking her earlobe in between his lips. “Have I told you how delicious you taste?” He asked. Annie trembled again and shook her head.

“N-no. N-not that I c-can re-remember,” she stammered.

“How remiss of me. Allow me to remedy that right now,” Jeff stated, stroking his fingers up her thigh to her hot, wet center. “I’ll help you dress and also tell you exactly how yummy you are…”

And while it was a very satisfying and _pleasurable_ time--the best time she’d ever had changing into a hospital gown--and Annie was glad that doctors took so long to come and see their patients even after already being checked over by the nurse, the minute her body stopped shaking, and the echo of Jeff’s grunts had faded away, the reality of where they were and what they were doing slammed back into her.

_Please, please, please… let this baby be Jeff’s._

* * * *

_Please, please, please… let this baby be mine._

Jeff tried to keep a nonchalant expression on his face as he waited--now completely, sexually satisfied, he might have to get one of those hospital beds for his condo, it was perfect for various positions--with Annie for the doctor to show up. Though he knew that Annie thought he’d made love to her--first with his mouth and fingers, and then with his shaft--because he was hot for her and wanted to help pass the time until the doctor showed up, that was only half the story. He’d done it because he could see her freaking out, because Annie was smart, and so was he, and they both knew, though neither of them wanted to say it, there was a chance that Annie was pregnant with Vaughn’s kid and not his.

And though Jeff was still… _uncertain_ about the whole being a father thing… or you know the whole being committed forever to one woman only, it was… _different_ with Annie. He couldn’t commit to his ex who had a kid from an ex...that was a story he didn’t want to think about… and he’d always known that Michelle was a temporary relationship. As a matter of fact, Jeff had spent much of his life knowing that every woman he looked at, flirted with, kissed, or had sex with, was a temporary point in his life. But Annie?

Being with her was a fixed point. **Gold** thread or not, a part of Jeff knew that he would have always met her, always been intrigued by her, always fallen in love with her, and always wanted to spend forever with her.

_Please let the baby be mine. Please let the baby be mine._

Because Jeff knew that he’d grown enough to care for a baby that was his own. To love it. To nourish it. To make sure it grew into a beautiful, functioning human being. But if the baby was Vaughn’s…

As Abed would say, Jeff wasn’t sure if he’d gone through enough character development to raise the hippie’s kid…

_Please let the baby be mine. Please._

_Please._

_Please._

* * * *

There was a knock at the door and Annie stuck out a hand in Jeff’s direction even as she called out to the doctor.

“Come in!”

They both waited with bated breath, which was expelled in a rush from both of them when he stepped in.

“Dr. Rich!” Annie breathed.

“Rich,” Jeff growled, moving around to stand almost directly in front of Annie.

Dr. Rich Stephenson. Mr-Perfect. The only man Jeff was ever _truly_ worried about when it came to Annie. It wasn’t just the other man’s Hollywood good looks, and toothpaste commercial smile, it was the fact that Rich was just. So. Damn… _good_. Jeff knew he was flawed. Knew that he was a bit of a screw-up. And he definitely knew that he didn’t really deserve Annie Edison. He could only thank the Creators for setting things up to make it so that he was destined to be with her. They literally created them for each other. But Rich was… an entanglement. Or a possible one.

And he made Jeff want to _be_ better. Something that required effort and trying. And Jeffrey Winger was always willing to go the extra mile to do nothing.

“Jeffrey! Annie! It’s so good to see you both again! Pottery class was fun, wasn’t it?” Rich greeted them, his smile contagious for everyone other than Jeff. He couldn’t help the clenching of his hand around Annie’s, as he studied the other man.

“It really was!” Annie said. “Though Jeff had a little bit of a hard time in it.” She shared a laugh with Rich, and Jeff felt his skin grow tight and hot on his bones.

_What the hell?_

“Rich… I didn’t expect you to be Annie’s doctor…” Jeff stated, his eyes moving over to collide with Annie’s. She simply shrugged back at him, and Jeff grunted in response.

“Oh yes! I _was_ working at Denver University Hospital, and I still have privileges there, but I wanted to be able to give back to the community of Greendale which has a lower income per capita than that of Denver, so the patients here don’t have the income like some of my others to pay for medical bills. I just want to make sure that I honor my oath as a doctor, you know?” Rich smiled at them again, before he gestured to Annie.

“Alright Annie, why don’t you go ahead and settle back against the bed, and we’ll go ahead and get this exam underway.”

Rich frowned and stepped over towards Annie’s head. “So, what, this is when you rub the big wand thing on Annie’s belly now, right?”

Annie and Rich both laughed and Jeff clenched his jaw. He didn’t find anything he’d just said funny.

“No, Jeff. They don’t usually do the external ultrasound this early unless they suspect something is wrong. I’ll be getting a transvaginal ultrasound today,” Annie told him, before she nodded at Rich, who pulled out what looked like a pair of big, steel stirrups at the end of the bed.

_Transvaginal? Like inside her…_

Jeff yelled out the moment he realized that Rich was sitting down on a chair in between Annie’s legs.

“Whoa! What the hell, man?” Jeff called out and dropped Annie’s hand to step towards Rich. He was pulled short when Annie grabbed his bicep in her hands.

“Jeff! No! Stop! What are you doing?” She gasped out.

He pointed at Rich who sat watching them with a look of intense fascination on his face. “Annie! He was going to be looking at your… _you know_ ,” he replied through clenched teeth.

“I know, Jeff. He’s an OBGYN. That’s his _job_.” She stopped and looked at him. He wasn’t exactly sure what she saw on his face, but whatever it was, it caused her to tilt her head to the side and her gaze to soften as she did. She reached up and cupped his left cheek in her right hand.

“Thank you,” she breathed, tugging him down until his forehead was pressed against her own.

“For what? Being so dumb that I didn’t realize what was going on until it was too late? Or being so jealous that I can’t stand the thought of you having a male doctor who gets to look at your sexy, private parts?” He asked.

Annie laughed. “For all of it. And you’re not dumb, Jeff. You just don’t…”

“...apply myself,” Jeff interrupted as Annie was saying: _apply yourself_ , as she always did. They smiled at each other for a while, and Jeff felt it once again, that hazy bubble, the thrumming of their threads, growing and vibrating, connecting the two of them. Making them closer than they had been before. Fusing their spirits and souls together. Intertwining their lives and their destinies even more. Restructuring their hearts until they’d shifted and reshaped into one big one.

So lost were they in their own little bubble, it wasn’t until the sound of rushing fluids and quick thumps reached their ears that they separated. Jeff looked at Annie, who was smiling at him, then down at where Rich had been, but where a beautiful, young, black woman now sat. Rich stood next to a screen where a black and white image swirled on it. Jeff blinked at them, before he looked back at Annie, who shrugged at him.

“When?” He asked.

“Your threads were growing,” the unknown doctor stated. “And we have all taken an oath to not interfere with the creation, strengthening, or the growth of any threads when it comes to families, and expectant couples.” She indicated the screen with a tilt of her head. “And if that didn’t cause your threads to grow, then I know this will.”

Jeff took a deep breath, and turned with Annie to look at the screen…

_Thump thump, woosh woosh, thump thump, woosh woosh._

_Thumpity thump, wooshity woosh thumpity thump, wooshity woosh._

“Wow,” Jeff and Annie breathed out simultaneously.

“Two heartbeats,” Rich stated.

Jeff frowned and looked at Rich with concern. “T-two heartbeats? Is the baby okay?”

“Jeff,” Annie touched his arm. “It’s two babies,” she stated.

“Wow,” Jeff replied, and once again looked at the screen, and then as if the Creators knew he wanted to know the parentage of the twins, he was compelled to look back down at Annie’s belly and…

Two **red** and two **white** threads, intertwined, white on the babies’ end, red on Jeff’s end, appeared.

The babies were his.

* * * *

An hour later, Annie and Jeff walked out towards the waiting room, hands intertwined, quietly basking in the glow of their confirmed pregnancy.

 _Twins_ . _Wow._

Annie knew that it was only her amazement at what had just taken place, and her relief at Jeff confirming to her that the babies were his (“ _I saw the threads, Annie. Red and white. From your stomach to me. From the babies to me. It was amazing.”)_ , that was preventing her from freaking out. She wasn’t even 20 and she was in a committed relationship, and expecting twins. This was not where she’d seen her life being when she’d spent hours, days, weeks, months, and years studying and prepping, and taking Adderall to get ahead. But, if she really stopped, if she really thought about it…

“Hey!” There they were, the entire study group, looking at her and Jeff expectantly.

She wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

“Soo?” Britta asked.

“Yeah, uh… we’re having a baby,” Jeff stated, rubbing the back of his neck nervously with his free hand.

Annie smiled widely. “Actually, we’re having twins.”

The gasps that came from the other five members of their study group was thrilling, amusing, and expected.

“Twins! Oh the wonderful filming possibilities,” Abed muttered. “The good twin and the evil twin. A modern play on _The Man In The Iron Mask_.”

“You’re not going to film our kids, Abed,” Jeff muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Twins? Oh good lord. The Lord really wanted to make sure the two of you were committed to each other, didn’t He?” Shirley stated. She narrowed her eyes at them, then stepped forward to grab Annie’s other hand, tugging her away from Jeff. “Well, Jef-frey… Pierce and I,” she rolled her eyes, “will expect you at my house this evening at exactly six o’clock. We’ll discuss the timeline for when you and An-nie will be getting married. When you can see her. Her curfew. What we expect of you. Things like that. Pierce is going to be there because he wants to offer to help you two out, and he sees Annie as a daughter, as well.” She shrugged. “But, regardless… six o’clock, Jef-frey. Don’t be late!”

And though Annie turned around towards Jeff, reaching out for him, then mouthing “ _I’m sorry_ ” at his face, as he stared at her in confusion, she was pulled out and pushed into Shirley’s minivan.

“Shirley!” She gasped. “We really need to talk about…”

“Oh An-nie, you just hush up now.” Shirley turned to look at her, giving her a firm, uncompromising stare. “Look, Jef-frey is not the man I would have chosen for you, but God in His wisdom does not give **gold** , and **purple** threads lightly or willy-nilly. So He knew what he was doing, and He didn’t make a mistake in doing it. But Jef-frey is a man who is going to have to be dragged kicking and screaming into doing what’s right. The same way he was dragged into accepting and embracing us all as his new family.”

Shirley started up the minivan and nodded as Troy, Abed, Britta, and Pierce all climbed inside, before Abed and Troy climbed back out and went to get into Jeff’s Lexus with him. “You’re staying with me, so until you move in with Jeff--which I will say, should be because the two of you are married and only that reason--you’re my responsibility. And I’m going to look out for you.”

“Yeah, Annie,” Britta spoke up from the backseat. “We all are.”

Annie nodded. She knew they were only acting and speaking from a place of love and concern, but when would they all finally start to see her as an adult?

_Hopefully before I go into labor._

**Mine: whats up w/shirley**

**_Forever: She’s in Mama Bear, protective mode. I’m sorry._ **

**Mine: its ok she cares bout u we all do**

**_Forever: She’s not going to let up until we either move in together…_ **

**Mine: or get married**

**_Forever: Yes._ **

**Mine: so what do we do**

**_Forever: It’s our life. They’re our babies. It’s our choice. What do you want to do?_ **

**Mine: c u @ 6**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is Shirley going to help Jeff grow up by dragging him into his new role, or is his time spent with Abed and Troy going to help? And how many of you thought that Vaughn was the father? I ALMOST had him be the dad (more drama for J/A) but Vaughn is gone and I want him to stay that way. But, don't expect all sunshine and rainbows, there's some angst on the way...


	9. The Season One Summer Finale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group has dinner, and we have our official season finale... (which Abed thinks is quite disappointing)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have another chapter coming your way later this evening, so no fear!

**The Season One Summer Finale**

Abed tilted his head and observed Jeff as the older man paced the floor of his living room. He wondered what was going through Jeff’s head, and he fought with his urge to pop some popcorn as he observed Jeff experiencing a _character crisis_.

“Jeff, can you tell me what you’re feeling at this moment?” Abed asked, as Troy looked through the various video games that sat on Jeff’s small bookshelf. The levels to which his soulmate and friend was so easily distracted usually amused Abed, but right now he couldn’t help but be mildly annoyed that his partner-in-crime was missing a prime opportunity to watch a prime plot point unfold right in front of them.

“Troy, pay attention,” he stated as the younger man veered away from the bookshelf and headed over to a pile of clothes sitting on a chair, with a red item on top.

“No, Abed, I cannot tell you what I’m feeling at this moment,” Jeff gritted out, before running his fingers through his hair. He started to mutter, before he pulled out his phone and sat down in a chair at his dining room table and started to type out a text message.

“Who are you texting, Jeff?” Troy asked.

Abed hummed, then pointed at Jeff before nodding. “He’s no doubt texting Annie. Though he thinks he’s texting her to find out why he’s become the villain to certain members of our study group, in all truth he’s trying to figure out if she’s okay.”

Jeff’s head jerked upwards and he stared at Abed for a long moment before he scoffed at looked back down at his phone when it rang in response. Abed groaned and leaned back against the cushions of the couch he’d been sitting on.

“Boring!” He exclaimed, ignoring the way Jeff and Troy looked at him in surprise.

“What do you mean, Abed? What’s boring?” Troy asked.

Abed gestured around the room. “This is boring. We already know what’s going to happen here. Jeff is going to prove himself to be worthy of our dear Annie’s affections. He’s going to promise to be a good father and partner to her, because Annie’s age, slight naivete, and beauty provokes a need for most of those around her to want to protect her. Especially older women and men.” He hummed. “Although those same characteristics makes her a source of jealousy in women like Michelle Slater, and maybe on another universe, Britta.”

Troy frowned. “My Britta? I mean… _our_ Britta?”

Abed scoffed and rolled his eyes—a move he’d seen employed by Jeff and Britta more than once.

“Troy, everyone knows that you and Britta are **gold** threaded, just like you and I. Except you and Britta are also **purple** threaded, whereas you and I are **black** threaded,” Abed stated. “So there’s no need to act as if you’re not worried that she’s jealous of Annie because of Jeff. But the thing is? _This isn’t your story._ It’s obvious that this season and maybe the next, centers around Jeff and Annie. They’re obviously Ross and Rachel—with a dose of Chandler and Monica.”

Troy frowned at him. “Who?”

Abed rolled his eyes. “They’re Max and Kyle, plus Synclaire and Overton, at the same time.”

Troy nodded in understanding. When Abed noticed Jeff’s look of confusion, he sighed in frustration. “Those are characters from the show **_Living Single_ ** , which **_Friends_ ** is based on.”

“Whoa. Really?” Jeff asked.

Abed nodded, then waved off the moment with his hand. “Yes. It happens all the time, popular shows in America with a predominantly white cast based on, or stealing from, shows with a predominantly cast of color… or you know, taken from shows in other countries,” he added as an afterthought.

“Mostly Britain,” he and Troy said simultaneously.

Abed looked at Troy with a measure of pride and admiration, glad to know that the Creators, under the supervision of Allah, had done well in making Troy his soulmate. He returned his attention back to Jeff.

“I fear that if something major doesn’t happen at your dinner tonight with Shirley, Pierce, and Annie, that the audience will lose all interest, and we will be cancelled after only one season on the air.” He shook his head. “You would think that the writers assigned to this show would know that something interesting needs to happen in every episode in order to maintain the core audiences attention.”

Abed didn’t need to look around to know that Jeff and Troy were trading looks of concern about him behind his back. It was something that his mother and father had done a lot growing up. Before the various tests and doctors appointments, before eventually the doctors had all settled on a general consensus of “ _somewhere on the spectrum_.”

_Which was really just lazy writing on the studio’s part. Somewhere on the spectrum? Were they afraid to nail down an actual diagnosis for fear of getting something wrong and offending an entire community?_

“Abed, we’re not on a tv show,” Jeff stated in exasperation.

Abed nodded. “Sure, Jeff. We’re not on a tv show.” He tapped his finger to his lips. “I wonder if maybe things would have been different if you and Britta were **gold** threaded? Would the writers still have written that you got her pregnant by the end of our first season? Or would they have waited and let you both grow, and _then_ have you experience a pregnancy, and feel the need to marry.” He hummed again as he pointed upwards. “That’s a very interesting concept. It makes me wonder if the writers wrote in a pregnancy so early in the show in order to force you to grow up quicker, and in order to add drama, and make Annie have to deal constantly with a lack of control, which is always amusing for audiences. The world is run by Type A personalities, and while Annie is lovable, likable, and pretty, most audience members would look favorably upon seeing that type of personality be upended by mishaps and shenanigans…” He studied Jeff. “You as well. Because you try to hide your Type-A personality behind lazy work ethic and a general apathy in regards to anything non-superficial, and yet, I think you crave control more than any of us.

“In fact, I think you put more work into making sure you don’t have to work, than many of us put into actually getting stuff done.” Abed nodded and Troy’s eyes widened.

“Dude! That is wrinkling my brain. How did you just figure Jeff out like that?”

Jeff’s mouth widened and he stammered in response, before pushing himself up from the table and stomping off to the kitchen where he would no doubt pour himself a glass of Scotch. When Abed heard the distinct sound of liquid splashing into a glass, he sighed.

_See? A cliched response. I’d really hoped that this show would be unique._

“It’s really a typical character trait of the bad boy hero, Troy. And Jeff’s own character hasn’t developed to the point where he can act outside of the script.”

Troy nodded in amazement, before he sat back and started to mutter about “ _genius_ ”, and “ _a god_.”

Abed sank back into the cushions of Jeff’s surprisingly plush couch and sighed.

 _Extremely boring. I hope something exciting happens at dinner_.

*** *** *** ***

Jeff was still muttering about the various statements that Abed had made about his “character” and “personality” when he pulled up—with Abed and Troy in te car—in front of Shirley’s house. He parked behind the very expensive town car, which he knew belonged to Pierce, and shut off the engine. Now that he was here, just moments away from facing the firing squad, Jeff felt his anxiety rise.

It didn’t show on his face, of course. Such perfection could never show a trace of distress or doubt, but it was there, nonetheless. The feeling curled and coiled like a rattlesnake in his belly, just waiting for the right moment to strike, and Jeff had to lift his hands from the steering wheel and wipe them down the front of his suit pants.

“Finally, some sort of internal character dilemma,” Abed said, from where he sat in the passenger’s seat, turned fully to stare at Jeff.

The same way he’d been on the entire drive over.

“Shut up, Abed,” Jeff muttered.

“No can do, Jeff. Think of me as the director. It’s my job to help you pull out your best performance so that it translates to the screen in a satisfactory manner, and leaves the audience feeling deeply the very emotions the writers intend them to. And this dinner is supposed to invoke feelings of anxiety, nervousness, a slight tinge of fear, and hope for the future,” Abed stated, and Jeff felt his frustration at the slightly younger man rise almost to a fever pitch.

“Abed, we’re not on a tv show. You’re not the director. There are no writers crafting a script for my life. And there’s _no audience_ for us to appeal to!” Jeff almost yelled, his anxiety flaring up in his blood with a flash, before receding to a low tide… the way it always was.

Abed nodded. “Do you feel better now that you’ve yelled at me? I didn’t really project you doing that until we were inside and having dinner, but I was expecting it. So maybe the writers intend to have the dinner go a bit more smoothly than I’d hoped.”

Jeff blew out a breath of extreme frustration, before pulling his key out of the ignition, unbuckling his seatbelt, and climbing out of his car. He was aware of Troy and Abed following suit, and any other time he would have teased them about their innate need to imitate him, but he couldn’t think.

He could barely breathe.

Standing in front of Shirley’s two-story home, was Annie. Dressed in a solid purple colored sundress which gracefully skimmed her curves before flaring out midthigh and landing to just above her knees. A black belt—a stretchy black belt—was wrapped around her middle, and over her shoulders was a black cardigan, buttoned up to the top.

She was sexy and innocent, seductive and naive, teasingly desirable and achingly precious. He wanted to take her, lift her body up onto the hood of his car (and _no one_ sat on the hood of his Lexus), flip up her skirt, and take her body furiously with his own until she cried out in pleasure as she had before.

And yet, he also wanted to take her hand, kiss the back of it, and tug her into a deep, intimate, caring hug. The kind they’d shared just after finding out they were having twins.

_Hugh fifteen minutes since I last thought about that. Maybe I’m getting used to it._

Annie smiled shyly at him, and Jeff felt his heart gallop in his chest. He wasn’t even aware of the moment he’d decided to stride forward, lift Annie up into his arms, kiss her furiously and passionately, before slowly lowering her body back to the ground and holding her tightly against his body. A firm mixture of the two things he’d been struggling to decide between.

The distinctly unimpressed and judgemental sound of someone clearing their throat caused Jeff to pull away slightly from Annie.

He opened his eyes—when had he closed them?—and glanced around him, only to find the entire study group, and Shirley’s sons, watching them closely. All with various feelings and emotions stamped across their faces. Disappointment. Jealousy. Judgement. Boredom. Confusion. Disgust. He ignored them all, and looked down into Annie’s face. He brushed her hair back behind her ear and grinned.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi,” she returned shyly.

“Huh… I’ve never seen a gay kiss a woman like that,” Pierce stated, causing the entire group, sans Elijah and Jordan Bennett, to groan.

*** *** *** ***

Annie let her eyes trail over the faces of everyone seated around the dining table in Shirley’s home. The seven of them were sitting at the table, Jordan and Elijah at a small table in the kitchen, none of them speaking. Only the sound of forks and spoons scraping against their plates, and in the soup bowls, could be heard. Annie could feel the tension growing, and for a moment, a brief moment, she wished that she and Jeff could speak mind-to-mind the way they had been able to a couple of times before.

 _I wasn’t even aware that_ **_bold_ ** _threaded couples could do such a thing. I need to do more research on what doctors and religious leaders and psychologists have to say about the abilities and purposes of the threads. I’m sure someone has done it before, but maybe not as thorough a job as I would._

She started bouncing slightly in her seat as she thought of all the index cards she’d have to buy, all of the books she would need to study, the notes she’d have to take, the copious amount of time spent researching, the reports she would be able to compile. A grin split her face, and she barely stopped herself from clapping with glee. Her feet, however, did start to tap happily under the table, and she bit her lip.

_Oh god, am I getting turned on by the thought of studying for fun?_

When she looked up from where her eyes had dropped unconsciously to the table, she found her gaze trapped by Jeff’s amused one. Her skin flushed hot with embarrassment and she raised a hand to push the strands of her hair behind her ear. She hated how easily he could fluster her. How easily he could turn her on or even incite powerful emotions in her. Perhaps it was the power of their threads, or maybe…

Maybe it was just Jeff.

Shirley cleared her throat and Annie jerked her eyes away from Jeff, and over to the older woman who had graciously taken her in, furiously cared for her, and doggedly protected her, and while it usually annoyed her, Annie had to admit that… she felt loved. She felt protected.

She felt as if she had a mother.

And maybe that was the reason Annie felt such a need to… _rebel_ against Shrley. To push back. To fight the other woman for what she wanted. To argue for her right to have what she wanted the most. To fight in order to have her voice be heard.

Guilt surged through her as she realized that her problem with Shirley wasn’t only because of the older woman’s overprotective, slightly judgemental attitude regarding Jeff and Annie’s relationship, but it was also because of who and what Shirley represented and had become to her.

 _A mother_.

Oh great, something else for her to talk to her NA group about. As if her issues with her father, her mother, and her problems with the need to be an overachiever weren’t bad enough. Now she’d have to talk about the small bit of resentment she had for the beautiful, older woman, who was a friend to her, whom she had subconsciously placed in the role of mother, and thereby had begun to rebel against, or at least felt the urge to.

“I want to… thank you all for being here tonight,” Shirley said, looking around the table. “Though orig-inally I had only inten-ded for this din-ner to be bet-ween Jef-frey, An-nie, and my-self, having the rest of you here, Brit-ta, Tro-y, A-bed…” she lilted, then narrowed her eyes and said in a regular tone of voice, “Pierce. Is nice too.” She turned towards Jeff and fixed him with a firm stare.

“Now, Jef-frey…” she gave him a false smile. “What are your intentions towards our Annie? You’ve already gotten her pregnant… with twins I might add… and yet, she’s staying here with me and my kids. Do you intend to marry her? When? Are you going to pay for her medical bills? Do you have space for the baby? Are you open to learning how to raise a baby? Taking classes to understand feeding, changing, dangers, etc? What about Annie? Are you ready to deal with the hormones and cravings? Are you ready for your life to change forever? Ready to give up any other woman you might be interested in?” She intertwined her fingers and rested them on the table in front of her. “Having **gold** , **purple** , **silver** , **green** , and **black** threads doesn’t mean that the two of you won’t ever experience problems. It doesn’t mean that your relationship is perfect, or will be perfect. It doesn’t even mean that you’ll be together forever. It just means that you were destined to be. But it’s up to the two of you,” she gestured to the both of them, “to decide if you want to embrace that destiny or run from it.”

Shirley sat back in her chair and lifted her hands in a gesture of openness and welcome. “So… what are your intentions? Your plans?”

Annie’s breath caught in her throat at Shirley’s words and she sat up fully in her chair, intent on burning the eardrums of the older woman due to her presumption but Jeff spoke and his words…

“My intention is to not be my father,” Jeff said. “I won’t ever abandon my children, or the woman who gave birth to them. My plan is to take care of Annie and any and all kids that we have together, because the Creators created me to do so.” He leaned forward and stared intently at Shirley. “Annie is _mine_ , Shirley, and if you haven’t noticed just yet, I always take care of what belongs to me.”

He raised a finger and pointed it at Britta. “And no, I’m not degrading her by talking about her as if she’s a piece of property, Britta. I know that Annie is a fully functioning, aware, intelligent human being, not merely an empty vessel waiting to be filled up with my man seed in order to bear my children, and is not merely a trophy for me to display to the world to show how virile and masculine I am,” he said, and Annie covered her mouth to hide her smile, when she noticed Britta slam her mouth closed, and sit back in her chair to pout.

Jeff turned his focus back to Annie. “I may not have been planning to meet my **gold** and **purple** person. A woman who also is my **silver, black, and green** threaded person, and I certainly had no intention of becoming a father this soon, but, there is _no_ way I will ever be my father.”

And while Annie knew Jeff’s words were for Shirley, she had a feeling the promise he’d made was exclusively for her.

*** *** *** ***

“I must say that I am a little disappointed,” Abed confessed to Annie later that evening as she walked with him outside. After Jeff’s rather impassioned speech, the tension in the room had dissipated, and they’d all gone on to talk about the upcoming summer, their plans for it, and possibly what the dean did when he wasn’t at the college.

_“Probably stalks all of us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook,” Jeff teased._

_“Oh, Jef-frey! Don’t be so mean to the poor dean. It’s obvious that he loves us,” Shirley had rebuked him. Jeff had merely smiled and shrugged._

_“Yeah, just a little too much,” Jeff had murmured, causing Annie to giggle. He winked at her, and her face got hotter._

_“Ugh, you’re going to be even more cutesy with each other now aren’t you?” Shirley groaned._

_“Cutesy?” Jeff and Annie said simultaneously and widened their eyes at each other._

_The rest of the group chuckled, but Annie merely waved them off, before she reached out to grab the dish full of homemade baked ziti from the center of the table._

She’d ignored the stares she’d received from the rest of the group as she’d piled her plate high with the cheesy, marinara covered, pasta dish for the second time. She had listened to the doctors as they told her that just because she was pregnant with twins, didn’t mean she was “eating for three,” but at the same time…

They weren’t the ones who were currently sitting in front of a dish of Shirley’s baked ziti.

“Why are you disappointed?” Annie asked her tall, slender friend.

Abed sighed and shook his head. “I had hoped for a more explosive dinner,” he confessed. “Shirley’s overprotectiveness was sure to cause you to yell about being treated like the kid of our group. And the way Jeff spoke of you, I was certain that would make you indignant enough to yell at him, or emotional enough to cry about the way he talked about you. But instead, you simply took it all in stride. And even Pierce, who is often cast as the villain of our show, only made four racist statements, and two sexually inappropriate ones, which is much less than I’d predicted.” Abed shook his head. “I just don’t know what’s happening to this show!” He slammed one fist down into the hand of the other.

Annie jumped slightly, but she reached out to touch Abed’s forearm, when she noticed that Troy and Britta were talking softly next to the Lyft that the other woman had ordered. She wasn’t sure if Abed’s freakout was due to the fact that Troy and Britta were slowly beginning to find their footing as a couple, or if it was due to him not being coupled up with anyone in the group. She looked around for “Abed Assistance,” but saw that Jeff had been cornered by Shirley and Pierce, and the three of them were whispering furiously to each other, Shirley standing next to Jeff, as the two of them apparently argued with Pierce.

 _I don’t even_ want _to know what that’s about._

“Abed? You know we’re not on a tv show, right?” She asked, using her soft, “nurse” voice.

Abed turned to stare at her intently.

“Well Annie, if we’re not on a tv show, can you explain why you’re pregnant with twins, Troy and Britta are going to head off to Amsterdam together, and why Shirley is going to slap Pierce in three, two, one…”

And as if it had been scripted, the loud smack of Shirley’s hand connecting with Pierce’s face echoed across the yard.

Annie turned wide eyes towards Abed and her mouth dropped open in surprise.

“So, Annie, now that we’ve had our disappointing season finale, what do you think is going to happen at the start of season two?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who was expecting something more dramatic? I know I was, but I started the next chapter, and that's where the drama comes...


	10. Anthropology & Tragedy: The Study of the Human Condition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group begins their second year, and Britta is the new "girl champion."  
> Also, Jeff and Annie return to the doctor for a very important appointment, and receive tragic news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get out your tissues!
> 
> You have been warned.

**Anthropology & Tragedy: The Study of the Human Condition**

An alarm sounded at half past six in the morning and Jeff groaned, the sound resembling an animal in pain, as he rolled over to grab his phone to shut it off. The soft touch of a hand on his naked chest stopped him, and as he had been doing every morning for the past week, Jeff froze and tried to remember who was in bed with him.

“It’s my alarm, Jeff,” a soft, melodic voice told him, and his heart began to pound as he realized who it was. “You can sleep for another hour or so before we need to get serious about getting ready for class.”

Jeff opened his eyes and tilted his head down, smiling at the bright, blue eyes that stared up at him, and the mussed hair that surrounded a fresh face. Her smile almost blinded him in its brilliance, and once again, Jeff was stunned at the way she made him feel. He felt as if he could do anything.  _ Be _ anything.

“Why do you have an alarm set for six thirty, Annie?” He asked her, his voice a low growl of unuse and sleep.

She shrugged. “Because it takes me longer to get ready now,” she told him, gesturing down at the baby bulge which was quite noticeable now.

Jeff nodded but didn’t respond. Knew better than to say anything about the fact that Annie looked as if she’d swallowed a small watermelon. He’d made notice of her increasing size a little over a month before, and had been treated to tears, screams, and a hysterically furious Annie as she’d grabbed Shirley’s purse and attempted to whack him with it.

It had been the day that Shirley had called him and asked him,  _ nicely _ , to ask Annie to move in with him. Jeff hadn’t known why, and he still didn’t, but Shirley’s wide eyes, and her uncharacteristic acceptance of Jeff and Annie “living in sin” had so stunned him, he’d agreed without thought. But now, lying in bed with Annie, a week after she’d moved in with him, his curiosity got the best of him.

“Do you know why Shirley seemed okay with you moving in here with me, even though we’re not married?” He asked, lifting his left hand and running his fingers through Annie’s dark hair. Annie lifted a shoulder and breathed out a breath.

“I can’t be certain, but I think she’s seeing someone. Someone she doesn’t think the rest of us will approve of,” Annie confessed, furrowing her brow in concentration and confusion.

Jeff sighed and pondered Annie’s words. “But who could that be? I mean, obviously it’s not Andre.”

Annie laughed and agreed. “Of course not, Jeff!” She rolled her eyes and smacked his stomach lightly, giggling when Jeff let out a teasing grunt of faux pain. “She told me that Andre was not her  **gold** thread, and that seeing you and me, and Britta and Troy, happily threaded with our destinies, has made her want to seek hers out.” Annie sat up in bed, dragging the sheet with her, and Jeff smirked at her shyness in the light of day. It had been…  _ interesting _ , to see what Annie was like outside of school, and during the day when she wasn’t hyper-focused on studying, taking notes, and making sure their entire group stayed on task. As a matter of fact, Jeff had been a little stunned that Annie even knew  _ how _ to relax. The teasing she’d done, the games she’d readily played with him and Abed—whenever the other man found a chance to be free of his father’s stern and watchful gaze—had made him even more in awe of her ability to be so studious.

Though, Annie had found a number of projects to keep her busy over the course of the summer. She’d been studying threads, and the deeper meaning and power of the different ones. More than once, while he’d been sitting back on his couch,  _ not _ watching reruns of Glee and Gilmore Girls, he’d received a text message filled with excitement as she shared some new bit of information that she’d learned.

**_Forever: Jeff! Did you know that there have been reports of people who are gold threaded being able to_ ** **sense** **_when their soulmate is in danger?_ **

Or

**_Forever: Oh my gosh, Jeff! There are people who say that in times of extreme stress or emotional turmoil, they can speak to their_ ** **gold** **_threaded connection with their minds! Anthropologists and historians call it “soul speak.” How cool is that?!_ **

Jeff had merely responded to each ecstatic, excited rambling with a smiley face emoticon, uncertain of how he was meant to respond. And yet, Annie never wavered in texting him, and hadn’t stopped, even when they were finally living together. As a matter of fact, more than once he’d been sitting right next to her, him watching some fashionable, or popular show or movie, and Annie highlighting away in the books he’d bought for her on threads and the significance and power of the various ones, when she would send him a text message or a screenshot of something she’d just discovered.

He teased her often, by picking up his phone and reading her words, before setting it back down on the coffee table in front of him, ignoring the way she bounced on the seat next to him. He timed her to see how long she could last, before exploding with the need to  _ discuss _ the text she’d just sent him. He was surprised she hadn’t yet caught on to what he was doing, but then again, it was Annie. She no doubt knew, she simply enjoyed their little game.

“So who do you think Shirley’s mystery man is?” He asked her.

Annie shook her head. “I have no idea. But he must be a big deal if she basically kicked me out just so I wouldn’t find out who he was. I mean, she basically encouraged and supported us living together out of wedlock.”

Jeff nodded, then snorted out a laugh as a stray thought… a  _ ridiculous _ thought, went through his mind.

“Care to share?” Annie asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“What if the mystery man is the dean? Or Chang?” He held his stomach as amusement filled him. “Or Pierce?”

Annie stared at him for a moment, before they both burst into laughter. It felt good to laugh with Annie like that. In his bed… in  _ their _ bed, unclothed, free. And Jeff knew he could stay in that moment forever.

Which was why he wasn’t surprised the moment it was ruined.

Annie’s body jerked, and she quickly pushed herself off the bed, shoving the sheets and comforter off of her, before racing to the bathroom. Jeff winced the moment he heard the toilet seat flip up, and Annie started to vomit. He sighed in frustration and rubbed his face with his hands.

Every.

Single.

Time.

If he hadn’t been so sure and confident in his awesomeness, his coolness, his undeniable good looks, and well… his general perfection… Jeff might have been a little… concerned. Worried. Anxiety filled about the fact that Anniie’s body tended to revolt every time they had a nice moment together. She threw up in the morning, the afternoon, and at night, and a smattering of times in between. Usually always when they were relaxing and having a nice moment together. Jeff wasn’t worried that his kids didn’t like him and therefore wrecked havoc in Annie’s body in order to douse their precious moments in pregnancy sick. But if he had been a lesser man, like say… Pierce, then he might have been filled with anxiety. As it were, he only had his normal amount of anxiety.

Okay, okay. He was lying.

But he was doing a damn good job at it.

The fact that he could lie and get people to believe him was nothing new, but the fact that he could lie to  _ himself _ and believe his own lie?

Well… even though no one else had ever said it with sincerity, Jeff knew…

He. Was. A. Genius.

Knowing that there was no way he was going to be able to get back to sleep, Jeff pushed himself out of bed and walked over to his dresser, Annie’s was on the other side of the room, and pulled out a pair of his favorite boxer briefs, a pair of turquoise and black striped Saxx boxer briefs, that Annie had bought for him, and handed to him with her face blazing red.

Jeff had thought it was adorable.

He put on his gravity boots, and headed over to the doorway of their bedroom where hoisted himself up onto the Teeter EZ Up Inversion and Chin Up System with Rack machine that had been placed there. He knew that he had a limited amount of time to get in a quick workout. Annie would finish vomiting, brush her teeth, still feel disgusting, then take a shower. She would wash her hair—she’d told him the night before that she wanted to look her best, on their first day back at school—then she would head back into the bedroom to dress in the outfit she’d laid out the night before.

Jeff knew he had about forty-five minutes to an hour to get his full workout in, and he couldn’t be hanging in the doorway when Annie came back.

He pushed play on the remote for his stereo in his bedroom, and after tossing the slim, black device back onto the bed, he began working out to the sound of “Baby Fratelli” by The Fratellis. Though he knew that everyone thought his obsessive need to workout was purely superficial, and to be honest, much of it was, exercising also helped to calm down his mind and make it easier for him to focus. Which was something he desperately needed in that moment.

While their group all knew why Britta had done and said what she had at the Transfer Dance, the rest of Greendale hadn’t. To them, he was simply a man who’d walked out on two women who had professed their love for him. When the truth was, he’d gone after the one and only woman in the world, he knew he was  _ meant _ to be with.

The woman who was showering in his bedroom.

The woman who would come out of said shower, and dress in her button down turquoise sweater, her light turquoise shirt, her blue jean skirt, and her ballet flats. So that they would “match without matching.”

The woman…  _ young woman _ … who was currently pregnant with his twins.

And as that thought collided with his brain, Jeff let himself hang upside down for a moment, as he tried to reconcile—again—his new reality.

_ Holy shit. I’m going to be a father. _

_ To twins. _

_ I’m going to have two kids at one time. _

_ And fuck… I’m in a committed relationship. _

_ How the hell did this happen? _

But, as if she knew he was starting to spiral, Annie stepped around him from the hallway, and smiled down at him, one of his large, grey towels, big enough to not only cover her from beneath her armpits, to mid-calf, but also large enough to cover her baby belly, and still fall to the bottom of her knees. She leaned down, placed her hand on the side of his face, and gave him a small, tender kiss. Jeff moaned and felt all the blood rush to his head. He was sure that it was equal parts Annie’s kiss and his position upside down. He reveled in her taste, and even upside down, he had the wherewithal to wrap one arm around her waist, and bury his other hand into her hair.

He tasted her. He sipped from her lips as if she were the finest, most expensive, best tasting glass of Scotch that he’d ever had. And much like a good glass of his favorite drink, Jeff started to feel himself get a little tipsy, just from kissing Annie.

Then again, he was hanging upside down.

He whimpered slightly when Annie pulled away and stepped back, then engaging his core, Jeff lifted himself back up, and released his feet from the exercise machine. He lowered himself until he could stand straight, then he turned to Annie, who was watching him with wide eyes, and a slight smile on her lips. Jeff returned her smile, then stepped close to her. He stopped when Annie held up a hand.

“No, no, no, Jeff. I refuse to be late for school because of you. Now… go shower. I’m going to head over to the campus,” Annie instructed him, before she turned away and headed to the door of his walk-in closet. She grabbed her clothes and laid them out on the bed. Jeff sighed in disappointment, knowing that once Annie got into “student mode” there was no pulling her out… at least, not normally. He headed back to his dresser, and grabbed another pair of turquoise and black striped boxer briefs, then headed into his closet to grab his clothes for the day.

_ Black button-down shirt, jeans… _ Jeff nodded. Oh yeah, he was going to look  _ amazing _ in those clothes.

And just before he headed to the bathroom to shower, he heard Annie remind him… for the seventh time.

“And don’t forget, Jeff, we have to go in and get the results of our amniocentesis today, during our break in between classes. Rich is going to be there, so please try to behave.”

Jeff rolled his eyes.

_ Ugh. Rich. _

*** *** *** ***

Annie headed into the study room with Abed, Pierce, Troy, and Jeff. She was a little disappointed that Jeff had only arrived two minutes before they were all meant to meet up in the study room, but when he tugged her against him and placed a quick kiss on her forehead, all was forgiven.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said to her, before handing her a tiny bag of Let’s Salt & Vinegar chips. Annie’s eyes immediately filled with tears, at his thoughtfulness… she’d been craving the chips a lot lately, and she smiled up at him.

“Oh god, Annie. Don’t cry. It’s not a big deal,” he groaned, with a roll of his eyes.

So she hadn’t tweeted about it. And she hadn’t sent Shirley and Britta a text message letting them know what Jeff had done. And she absolutely had  _ not _ cried.

Okay, that was a lie. She did  _ all _ of those things.

However, her tears dissipated quickly, and her mood shifted to one of happiness and excitement, the moment they all stepped into Study Room F, and Shirley turned from the table, with a squeal and her arms outstretched.

“Shirley!” Annie squeaked, and bouncing on her toes, she raced over to throw her arms around Shirley as she and the other woman shared a tight hug. When they pulled away, Shirley’s eyes widened and she placed her hands on Annie’s baby bump.

“Oh An-nie. I’m afraid that both of your babies may be built like Jef-frey. They seem as if they’re already quite big and you’re only in your second trimester,” Shirley pointed out.

Annie’s lip quivered, before she squared her shoulders and nodded. “Yes, I feel like I blew up overnight, but I figure if our kids get Jeff’s height, then that means they have a greater chance of inheriting my intelligence, don’t you think?”

“One can only hope so, An-nie,” Shirley agreed.

Annie stepped back and allowed the rest of the group to greet Shirley, looking around for Britta. Annie hadn’t heard from the other woman since she and Troy returned from their quick trip, not to Amsterdam but to New York. Troy had shared with Jeff that the part of New York that Britta had lived in, was not the part they’d visited, and that he’d more than once had to rescue her after she’d put her foot in her mouth to show how accepting and tolerant she was. Jeff had laughed and more than once said to Annie, “Britta just keeps discovering just how different Brooklyn is from Tonawanda.”

Annie had been surprised by the name of the small city in New York that Britta had lived in, until Jeff had informed her that Britta’s parents owned a home in the area. Consumed with curiosity, Annie had done a quick “research excursion” on the city. It wasn’t dangerous or scary, the way her mother and father had always described New York to her. In fact, the city was quite… homey.

Though Annie still had no intention of ever going there.

“...she never returned any of my calls or emails,” Shirley stated, looking worried.

Annie frowned. “Britta?” At the group’s nod, she hummed in contemplation. “Me neither.”

Troy shook his head. “She said she was thinking about taking a semester off, just to let the heat die down from what happened at the Transfer Dance. I didn’t think she was serious.” His shoulders shuddered a bit, as he gasped on a sob. “It’s not gonna be the same without her.” He took in another breath, and Annie felt her own eyes well up with tears in solidarity with her friend.

“Hey, did you guys see Toy Story 3?” Pierce asked. And just like that, the mood shifted, and they all talked about how great the movie was.

Annie, Shirley, Pierce, and Jeff had gone to see it, along with Shirley’s sons Jordan and Elijah. It was shortly after Shirley had declared that all of Annie and Jeff’s dates were going to be chaperoned. Although, she quickly gave up on that, when she’d accompanied them out one night, only for Jeff to take Annie to a nightclub. Annie hadn’t drank anything, and Jeff had only had one glass of Scotch the entire night, but Annie had noticed the way Shirley kept looking at the bar and licking her lips.

She’d told them she didn’t need to chaperone them anymore the next morning.

Which had led to Jeff picking Annie up for a night, and her staying for the entire weekend.

Annie startled as Jeff wrapped her in a hug and glanced down at her face.

“You okay?” He mouthed to her, and Annie nodded. While she would miss Britta if indeed the other woman had chosen not to return to Greendale that semester, Annie was still extremely happy. Some things were happening out of order, and her 5 Year, 10 Year plan was kind of out of order in her large purple binder, but still… she wouldn’t change any of it.

Okay, maybe one or two things.

“Hey!” A surly voice called out, and Annie jumped slightly before turning towards the source of the sound, with a squeak. Jeff tugging her behind him for just a moment filled her chest with warmth, and she couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face. Then she peeked around him and saw Britta, kneeling on the couch in the study room, wearing her customary black leather jacket, over an off-black shirt, which was over another black shirt.

_ I should really introduce more colors into her wardrobe. Maybe some purple? _ Annie thought to herself, before quickly dismissing that idea.

_ No. Purple is my color. Well, mine and Prince’s. I’ll have to think of another color for Britta… maybe… green? Pink? Blue? _

“...I was just caught up in a competition with his turd of an ex-girlfriend, and trying to make sure my two friends,  _ who were made for each other, by the way _ , actually ended up together, and didn’t make a mistake. And I wish I could erase the entire night.” Britta glanced over at Troy and flushed slightly. “Well, not the whole night, just the part where I made an ass of myself. But I thought I was doing the right thing. I see now that I wasn’t, and I owe you both an apology,” she said, gesturing at Jeff and Annie.

Annie and Jeff both nodded, and Annie snuggled into Jeff’s body as he wrapped his arm around her. They all headed off to Anthropology 101, Annie and Jeff both overhearing the small group of girls as they praised Britta for sticking up for her friends.

“You are so. Cool.”

Jeff rolled his eyes, and Annie poked him with her elbow. “Behave,” she said, before accepting his hand as they continued down the hallway. They stepped into the classroom where Antho 101 was being held and paused as they saw their old Spanish teacher, _Senor_ _Chang_ sitting behind one of the tables… like he was a _student_.

“Senor Chang!” Annie greeted him happily. She paused as she considered the fact that because of her meddling, the Asian man was no longer teaching Spanish. She frowned. “Well, I guess technically it’s not Senor Chang anymore. What should we call you? Student Chang?”

“Two-Credits-Into-a-Music-Major Chang?” Jeff teased from beside her.

“Okay, how about not calling me anything? Hmm?” Senor—Student—Chang replied.

Annie and Jeff continued their conversation with the other man for a brief moment, until he inevitably said something psycho crazy:  _ Ancient weaponry. Genital mutilation. This subject’s talking my Chang-uage. _

They went to take their seats. Jeff sitting next to Abed, who was sitting next to Troy, and Annie sitting next to Shirley who sat next to Britta. The class started and Annie took notes from the old, white-haired professor who looked a little like Betty White, trying not to let her gaze rest on anyone for too long. Those salt and vinegar chips had been great, but she knew that she needed to eat again soon, or she was going to vomit. And she didn’t think she’d make it to the bathroom.

She gasped and her head lifted quickly when a Ziploc baggie of Swedish Fish was placed on top of her open notebook. She looked over at Shirley, to thank the other woman, knowing that it had to be the twice-over mother, who thought to bring Annie something to nosh on. But she stopped when Shirley shook her head and gestured towards Jeff.

The man who pretended as if he were selfish and didn’t care about anyone but himself had packed her a snack because he knew she needed to eat something every couple of hours or their babies made her vomit.

The man who only she knew loved to cuddle, and whom she had caught more than once, rubbing his hand up and down her belly, talking softly to the children growing inside of her.

The man who had gone grocery shopping, alone, the day she’d moved in, and had purchased everything on her list, so that she always had something to eat.

The man who did all of these things, then tried to shrug off her happy tears and squeals of gratitude.

**_Forever: Thank you for my snack, Jeff._ **

**Mine: wut r u spsd 2 call me**

Annie shook her head and giggled softly.

**_Forever: Thank you for my snack, Mine._ **

**Mine: thats better its np nething 4 u**

And if Annie had ever had any doubt before that the Creators knew what they were doing putting an arrogant, bitter, consummate slacker in a Greek god’s body, with an overachieving, extra credit seeking, nerd in a hot girl’s body, in that moment, it all faded away. The Creators had chosen perfectly.

*** *** *** ***

Jeff held Annie’s hand as they sat in Rich’s office, waiting for the doctor to arrive.

_ Ugh. Rich. _

Jeff could only hope that Annie attributed his sweaty palm to the fact that he would be seeing Rich again, and not to the real reason. He was scared out of his fucking mind. Like, quite literally on the verge of an anxiety attack.

He’d been struggling with the feeling since the moment Rich had called them to schedule a follow-up visit after they’d had their first “belly ultrasound.” Rich and Dr. Amanda Stacey—the resident doctor who had performed Annie’s first transvaginal ultrasound—had consulted with a neonatal specialist, Doctor Helen Sharpwin, who had come in, taken a look at the image on the screen, slid both Rich and Dr. Amanda to the side, before doing the ultrasound herself. She’d then suggested that Annie and Jeff have an amniocentesis, and a knot had formed in the pit of Jeff’s stomach. He hadn’t told Annie, but he’d done some research himself, and none of it had been good.

So, for the past week, Jeff had been walking around with a weight in his gut, like a metric ton, lead ball had been placed inside of it, none too gently, by some angry deity. He could only hope that his years of not having any emotions, or at least not displaying any, was preventing him from showing Annie just how…  _ scared _ he was.

Jeff was startled out of his internal thoughts as Rich and Dr. Amanda stepped into the office. They both sat on the edge of the desk in front of Jeff and Annie and gave them smiles that Jeff could only describe as “ _ smiles of pity. _ ”

“So… we got the results back from the amniocentesis,” Rich started.

Annie nodded and squeezed his hand in her surprisingly tight grip. “Okay…”

Dr. Amanda shook her head. “There’s no easy way to say this…”

Jeff growled, and tugged Annie up from her chair, and down onto his lap. He would tell her later that it was to be able to comfort her, to offer her support while they received their news, but he always knew, that she knew, that he was lying. He was the one who needed the comfort. He was the one who needed the support.

“Just say it, doc,” Jeff demanded.

“Jeff!” Annie said his name in an admonishing tone and began to run her fingers through his hair. She offered the doctors a slight tilt of her lips in the semblance of an expression of apology, and gestured to them. “He’s sorry. I’m sorry. We’re both sorry. Please, continue.”

Dr. Amanda nodded, and took a deep breath. “Unfortunately, the results of the amniocentesis show that one of the twins has spina bifida.”

Annie gasped and covered her mouth, while Jeff felt as if someone had yanked the rug right from beneath him. He could only hear the doctors speaking as if through a white noise machine, as his mind scrambled to remember what he’d read about spina bifida. It was a neural birth defect. There were different types and Jeff cleared his throat interrupting whoever was talking in that moment.

“Do you know which type of spina bifida? Is it occulta or aperta?” He asked. He ignored Rich’s look of surprise and admiration and simply held Annie tighter when she turned and buried her face in his chest.

“It’s spina bifida aperta,” Rich stated. “We can’t say for sure if it’s meningocele or myelomeningocele, that’s something we won’t really be able to determine until later on in the pregnancy, or even until after birth. But from what we could see on the ultrasound, and with the results of the AFP, it seems like it may be… myelomeningocele, which means…”

“One of our children is going to have to have surgery one or two days after birth, to have their spinal cord put back into place,” Jeff interrupted, his voice sounding hoarse to his own ears.

“Yes,” Dr. Amanda confirmed.

Jeff nodded. “Can we have the room please?”

“Certainly,” Rich responded, before he led Dr. Amanda from the room. As soon as the door closed behind them, Annie began to cry harshly, her tears soaking through his shirt. Jeff wanted to comfort her, but he couldn’t, all he could do was hold her tight against him, and cry with her.

*** *** *** ***

“Is this my fault, Jeff?” She asked him later, as they sat in his Lexus, in the parking lot of Greendale Community College. Neither of them had spoken on the way back to campus, and Jeff was beginning to reconsider actually returning to take classes that day. Not when all he wanted to do was curl up with a good bottle of Scotch—or a cheap one, he wasn’t feeling particularly picky in that moment—and cry himself dry.

He turned and stared at Annie, where she sat next to him, gently caressing her belly through her shirt, her tears falling down her cheeks silently.

“What the fuck, Annie? Why would you even ask that? No! Of course it’s not your fault,” he assured her.

She nodded, and swallowed thickly. “I just figure that, you know, I did drugs, you know, and only got clean a little bit before I got here.” She shook her head. “Maybe the drugs stripped my body of the nutrients I needed to have to make sure our babies would be healthy. Or maybe… maybe because of the types of condoms that Vaughn and I used, it did something to me internally.” Annie sniffled and wiped her face. “Maybe I’m being punished because there was a moment when I wasn’t sure if the twins were yours or not…” She started to sob. “What if I did this to our baby, Jeff? What if this is all my fault and it keeps happening, and I can never give you any healthy babies?”

Annie covered her face and let out the harshest, most heart-breaking, gut-wrenching cries, sobs, and wails, that Jeff had ever heard. An icy heat ran down his spine, and he could feel his own tears joining hers. So he climbed out of the car, walked around to Annie’s side and opened her door. He reached inside, unbuckled her seatbelt, and lifted her up into his arms. He walked with her across the quad, ignoring the nosy Greendale students who were trying to figure out what Jeff Winger had done to precious Annie Edison to make her cry. It was none of their business what was going on, and so, Jeff strode on. He headed directly for the Study Room, knowing that the rest of the group would meet them there shortly because word always got out quickly around Greendale, and…

Yes. There they were. All of them. Seated around the table, their eyes wide and full of concern, as Jeff headed away from the table and sat down instead on the couch. The group, their friends… their  _ chosen family _ , all followed them over and sat around them, close and tight, each placing a comforting hand on Annie.

“What happened?” Britta asked.

Jeff merely shook his head at her, then focused on Annie. “Listen to me, Annie Edison. You are an amazing woman. You’re smart, funny, beautiful, focused, determined, driven. You have a wicked sense of humor, you’re an amazing cook, you are giving, and have one of the biggest hearts I’ve ever seen. You’re fearless, independent, strong, and brave. Yes, you made mistakes, but so did all of us. And while we’re all getting our second chances here at Greendale, the toilet of community college, it is here, that we all met. Here, that we became a family. Here,” he tilted her head up, “that I found you, when I didn’t even know I was looking.” He placed a gentle kiss on her lips, tasting the salt from her tears, her strawberry lip gloss, and another taste that was distinctly and uniquely, all Annie.

“So we have all endured some tragedy. Some heartbreak. Some… heart-rending situation that led us here, but look at the beauty that came from it. I’m not saying that everything happens for a reason,” he shook his head. “But what I am saying is that the most beautiful things in the world, oftentimes come about in the midst of great turmoil and grief, or because of it, or in spite of it.” He gestured at their friends. “Our family, our chosen family, was created because of the tragedy we all endured, and look at how beautiful that is. So, yes, our child has spina bifida, but that’s simply a bump on the road, a turmoil, a tragedy, just imagine what beautiful thing will grow because of that.”

Jeff was happy that Shirley, Pierce, Britta, Abed, and Troy all knew, for once, almost instinctively when  _ not _ to speak. Instead, with tears running down their faces, to join Annie and Jeff as they cried, the group all embraced the soon-to-be parents, the expecting couple, and offered them their own strength, to help them get through the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was a little choked up writing this, honestly. Especially the moment when Annie blames herself, and the group supporting them at the end.
> 
> *sob*
> 
> Anyway, more angst is coming, because well... there was quite a bit of that in the beginning of Season 2.


	11. Family 101 and The Research of Family Dynamics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff and Annie learn what it is to be a family, move into a new home, and the group becomes closer than ever.
> 
> (Too close, according to Jeff)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a SUPER long chapter. Filled with ups and downs, schmoopyness, angst, and humor.

**Family 101 and The Research of Family Dynamics**

Later on that evening, Jeff sat back on his couch, holding tightly to Annie, as the rest of the group sat in various chairs around the room. No one spoke. Silence prevailed. As it had since they all collectively left Greendale, Troy driving Annie’s car, while Abed and Britta climbed into the back of his Lexus, and returned back to Annie and Jeff’s apartment. Jeff had carried Annie into the apartment, and right over to their couch. He sat down, and much as they had back at Greendale, the group all took positions on chairs, the floor, or the couch, and simply sat there. Jeff was grateful that they were all being so mindful of his and Annie’s feelings. He really was. But at the same time. The silence was creeping him out.

“Can somebody say something please?” Annie’s voice rang out, startling everyone.

Jeff looked down at her, then around the room, before they all burst into laughter.

It was good. It broke the tension. And once again, it let Jeff know exactly how close they’d all become in just a year.

“So, anyone else hungry?” Troy asked.

The room filled with the sound of everyone screaming out “Yes!”

“You all get your pizza, I’m gonna make myself some buttered noodles,” Abed declared, standing up from where he sat on the floor. “And then I’ll come and choose what movies we’re going to watch. That is, if Jeff and Annie have an acceptable collection here in their home. We may have to watch something from my laptop. Or figure out a way to hook my laptop up to their tv.” Abed tilted his head to the side as he considered his options. He nodded and with a fisted right hand, he jerked his right arm and elbow down in a gesture of victory and accomplishment.

Jeff frowned, wondering what plan Abed had settled on, before he really processed his words. He opened his mouth to remind Abed that he was in Jeff and Annie’s apartment, when Shirley beat him to the punch.

“A-bed? Don’t you think that Jef-frey and An-nie should be the ones to decide what movies we watch? I mean, we are in their apartment,” Shirley pointed out.

Abed stopped and turned to look back at them. He tilted his head and frowned.

“I don’t understand.”

Annie shook her head. “It’s okay, Shirley. Abed knows what he’s doing. I trust him to pick a good movie.”

Abed nodded and continued on towards the kitchen. Jeff turned his focus back to Annie, while Troy and Britta fought over what to order from the pizza place down the street. Jeff pulled Annie closer to him, and stroked her belly, while he pondered what all needed to be done in order to prepare for their twins, especially with one of them possibly being disabled or handicapable.

“Jef-frey? An-nie?” Shirley’s voice pulled him out of his internal musings. Jeff looked over at her and quirked an eyebrow. “Besides the food tonight and… the mo-vies that Abed is choosing… is there anything else the two of you need? Anything else we can do for you?”

Jeff wanted to immediately answer no, but he glanced down at Annie first, who seemed to be considering Shirley’s words.

Annie shrugged. “I don’t really know what we need. Or what to do. I need to research and plan and talk to other parents…”

“Sounds like homework,” Pierce pointed out. “I’m out. Just let me know how much to make the check out for.”

Jeff frowned. “Check? What check? For what?”

Pierce gestured around them. “For the new place.”

Jeff looked at Annie in confusion, seeing the expression reflected back on her face, then turned to look back at Pierce. “What new place?”

Pierce shifted his eyes back and forth between Annie and Jeff, before he looked at the rest of the group, finally returning his gaze back to Jeff and Annie on the couch. He leaned forward and pointed at Annie’s belly.

“You’re expecting twins, Jeffrey. While this place would okay for them when they’re young, still tiny people, you now have to realize that one of your babies is most likely going to have special needs. Adaptive furniture. Adaptive clothing. You’re going to need to be able to get to them a lot quicker and easier. You’re going to need a place on the bottom floor, or at least a place with an elevator especially for your family. You’re going to need more bathrooms, the rooms will need to be bigger, once that baby is able to start getting around. Will they need a wheelchair? Or a walker? Either way, they need to be able to turn around and…” Pierce stopped talking when Annie pushed herself off Jeff’s lap.

Jeff was worried that Pierce’s words had hurt Annie, had broken her, or maybe he was simply projecting his own feelings and fears onto his… girlfriend. Because Pierce’s words had shown Jeff that with all of the research and studying he’d done, he still wasn’t prepared. His place, _their_ place wasn’t ready for their twins. They weren’t ready. Not even for two healthy babies, but especially not for one healthy baby and one baby with spina bifida.

Annie walked over to Pierce, leaned forward and hugged him tightly. Jeff looked over at Shirley in surprise.

“Thank you, Pierce,” Annie’s voice was muffled. She pulled back to look up at Pierce’s face. “I know that Jeff won’t want to, but I’m going to accept on behalf of our children. We won’t let you pay for all of it, but we will accept you paying for some of it, part of our new place and everything, because we have to think about our babies, not our pride.” She glanced over at Jeff, and he raised his hands in surrender. Annie nodded. She looked back at Pierce. “So thank you.”

Pierce’s face turned a shocking shade of pink, with pleased shyness over Annie’s gratitude. He awkwardly pat Annie’s back, and dropped his hands when she moved away to sit back down on Jeff’s lap, curling up against his chest, sighing the moment he rested his hand on her baby bump. And true to form, Pierce chose to ruin his likeability within moments of receiving it.

“So, Annie. Did the doctors tell you if your boobs were going to get twice as big as a normal pregnant woman’s since you’re carrying twins or what?”

“Pierce!”

*** *** *** ***

“I’m going to use this to attack you, and you use respect to defend yourself…”

Jeff gasped as he opened his eyes. The group was all standing around him, each with varying degrees of concern on their faces, Annie’s face was red and splotchy as she sat next to him on the clinic bed, tears still rolling down her cheeks.

“Jeff! Are you okay?”

“W-what happened?” He asked.

“Professor Bauer got suspended, and we got an automatic A on our assignment,” Annie said, brushing the tips of her fingers over his face.

“Did someone throw urine in my face?” Jeff asked.

Pierce puffed out his chest in pride and nodded. “Sometimes I surprise myself under pressure.”

Jeff rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Annie as Troy and Pierce talked to each other about Troy’s Twitter account: @OldWhiteManSays. Annie was frowning at him, and he offered her a small smile.

“You don’t think I’m gross because Pierce threw urine in my face now, do you?” He teased.

Annie rolled her eyes and shook her head. “No, of course not. I figure over the course of our lifetime I’m going to see you do and endure a lot of unpleasant things, and you’re going to be there when two babies are expelled from my body, so… we’re basically even. But… why, Jeff? Why did you go up there and tell Professor Bauer that the greatest weapon was respect?”

Jeff sighed and glanced up at the ceiling. “Because of yesterday, and last night.”

Annie continued to frown at him, and he took her hand in his. He glanced around at the group, who were now all looking at him again.

“Yesterday, the group all respected you and I enough that they sat with us, quietly, and cried with us, after they heard about our twins. Then they respected you enough to not offer advice or help or opinions until you opened that door. They respected each other enough to not disparage the words or comfort offered by anyone else, knowing that they were coming from a place of caring. And we respected them enough to know that they are family to us, and thereby to our twins, so we allowed them to be with us on the day that we were processing our news, and welcomed them grieving with us.”

Jeff shrugged. “Respecting someone is basically just a stepping stone to loving them. And once you love someone they have power in your life.”

“Awww, Jef-frey!” Shirley said, widening her brown eyes, lifting the strap of her comically large purse higher on her shoulder, and reaching down to squeeze his leg.

Annie leaned down and kissed his cheek. “You’re going to be a great dad, Jeff,” she told him.

“Guys? I’ve got a confession to make,” Chang spoke up from the doorway. “I took Anthropology because I wanna be a part of your study group.”

Jeff’s eyes widened as he tried to process the words of the man who used to be their Spanish teacher and was now just a student. He glanced around and noticed the surprise and hesitance on everyone’s faces, and for some reason he tugged Annie until she was standing almost against the wall. He had to protect her from whatever sort of _crazy_ was hovering around Chang at any moment.

“Now, I gotta do the honest thing, and just ask. Is there… any room in this pocket, for a little spare Chang?”

“Uh—” Jeff glanced at the rest of the group and sighed. “Look, we’ve been through a lot over the past couple of days. Um… give us a little time to think it over,” he told Chang.

The other man waved off his words in a gesture of nonchalance. “Totally, totally, man. Just think about it. Take your time and uh… let me know.”

“Bye!” Pierce practically shouted.

“See you, Chang,” Jeff said.

“See ya,” Abed replied.

Annie, Britta, and Shirley simply waved. Troy glanced over his shoulder at the man and gave him a tilted head motion in response.

“Bye.” Chang waved and left the clinic.

“Awww, poor guy,” Annie said, as she smoothed back the strands of Jeff’s hair. Jeff clenched his teeth, because he knew, just _knew_ she was ruining his style, but then he realized that unless his face and hair had been washed thoroughly, they were both already ruined by the ass-kicking he’d taken from their tiny, white-haired, former Anthology professor. Who had gone “Greendale Crazy.”

“We’ll let him in eventually,” Jeff said, smiling up at Annie.

“Says who?” Pierce asked.

“We have the strength to survive anything. What’s the worst that can happen with Chang?”

The group all nodded and offered up words and statements of agreement.

They had no idea what was to come.

*** *** *** ***

Annie opened the passenger side door and turned to place her feet on the ground. She groaned and looked down at her baby bump, which wasn’t so much a bump anymore as it was a _globe_ . It was as if she’d gone to sleep looking like a relatively normal pregnant woman, but when she woke up, it was as if her body and her babies wanted to remind her of the height disparity between her and Jeff by making her belly _pop_ while she was dreaming of tests and homework and baby crawling around classrooms with their spines exposed.

She shuddered as she remembered her dreams… _nightmares_ … from the night before.

Jeff chuckled and held out his hand. “Need some help?” He asked.

Annie glared at him. “Shut up, you pointy faced jerk,” she huffed. “This,” she pointed at her belly, “is all _your_ fault. Why did you have to be so… so _darn_ fertile!”

Jeff faux gasped and covered his mouth. “Why, Miss Edison! Such language! My delicate ears are burning. And think of our children!”

Annie’s eyes widened and she glanced down at the belly that she’d been lamenting over, just a few short minutes ago. Her blue eyes filled with tears and her lower lip trembled.

“Oh! Oh, Annie! No! I was… I w-was just joking!” Jeff stammered, stepping forward quickly to gather her into his arms. He shushed her and rocked her side to side.

“Jeffrey? What did you do to my favorite?” Pierce’s voice sounded slightly scary, and amazingly authoritative.

Annie wanted to assure them both that it was simply her out of control hormones, but she could barely push past the haze of emotion that she found herself currently trapped in.

“Oh, Pierce, hush up! And Jef-frey, please stop freaking out. Annie is simply having a swing, isn’t that right, dear?” Shirley stated, walking over to where they stood in the driveway of the gorgeous, three story home, complete with elevator, wheelchair wide doorways, accessible showers in three of the bathrooms, one on each floor, with railings on the wall both in the shower, and out alongside the toilet and sink, a built in shower seat, with a “help” or “call” string and button in each. The home also had six bedrooms, two of which shared a connecting door and were on the bottom floor. Two of which were connected through a shared bathroom and were on the second floor. And the last two that were on either side of the third floor.

They’d already seen the house once before, and while Annie and Jeff had been impressed with all of the accessibility: the elevator, the ramps up to the house: to the front door, side door, and from the garage into the kitchen. And the ramp from the back patio down to the large backyard which had a paved path through it, up to the pool which had a device next to it to help lower someone into the water, and down towards the treehouse which was equipped with an elevator, or pulley system, wrapped in wood so that it matched the treehouse, which would allow their child to still enjoy the treehouse. They had both balked and choked at the price.

It was _waaaaayyyy_ out of their budget.

But Pierce and Shirley had convinced the both of them to come back and look at it again, and Annie and Jeff had agreed. Annie a bit more readily than Jeff, because for all of his laziness, and his manipulation of other people to get them to give him things and to do things for him, Annie had been surprised at how… _prideful_ her boyfriend was when it came to taking care of her and their babies. How much initiative and drive he had when it came to what he saw as his responsibility and privilege in taking care of them. She wasn’t sure if he’d always been this way, or if the time he’d spent “dating” Professor Slater—that _b-word_ —had changed him, or even if it was just the fact that he realized and accepted the complicated turn their lives had taken and had decided to lean into it, but whatever it was, Jeff was showing himself to be extremely proficient and competent as a caretaker, a partner, and a father.

Which was why Annie knew that it was up to her to help him see the wisdom in accepting help from others.

Based on the numerous conversations she’d had in online forums, and Facebook groups, and Instagram DMs with other parents and mothers and caretakers of children surviving and living with spina bifida, Annie knew that accepting help, assistance, and having a space that was accessible for their child was paramount to caring for them. And while Annie felt horrible that there were so many parents and families out there who were dependent upon churches, their families, GoFundMe, and other grants to help them get what they needed, she would not deny her child the benefit of having whatever they needed just because the help was coming from Pierce.

However, Jeff really didn’t like Pierce, so she’d had to finesse things a bit. But they were there, with Shirley to help them and to offer support, and if need be, to bully Jeff into accepting Pierce’s generosity.

Besides, every time Annie saw one of the study group members, or someone from Greendale, they gave her something special for the twins. A baby blanket. A small plushie. A cardboard baby book. A framed photo with a Scripture printed beneath it (three guesses as to who _that_ gift was from). And always, always, always, they would attach it with a small card of some sort, and a purple pen. Annie had so many purple pens now, that she’d begun to wrap them in rubber bands and ribbons and place them in baskets filled with shredded tissue paper, or styrofoam, or something, and created “Purple Pen Bouquets” all around the apartment. Though she knew that Jeff didn’t want her to know it was all his idea, she’d heard him mutter, “ _I should’ve never suggested the purple pen thing”_ the night before when she’d placed another “Purple Pen Bouquet” in the center of the coffee table.

She smiled when Shirley handed her a purple baby bag that was filled with baby clothes and cloths, and sitting in one of the pockets was a purple pen. Annie squealed, released Jeff and threw her arms—as best as she could—around Shirley.

“Thank you Shirley!”

“Ohhh, you’re welcome, An-nie!” Shirley cooed. She smiled at Annie and gave Jeff a look full of mischief and teasing. “So how many _PPB_ s do you have now, An-nie?”

Annie gasped and bounced, clapping excitedly. “When we left the house I had just finished wrapping my tenth one!” Her eyes widened. “I don’t know where I’m going to put them all!”

Jeff groaned, and Annie looked back at him with a narrow-eyed glare. He lifted his hands in surrender, before he turned to reach into the car and pulled out her purple backpack. It was something that she carried around with her all of the time now, not only because of coursework, but so that she could take all of the vitamins and anti-emitic pills that she’d been prescribed by the doctor. Jeff also insisted that she carried around Pedialyte, ginger ale, water, fruit snacks, small tupperware containers of fruit, crackers, a pillow, and the book _What To Expect When You’re Expecting_.

Annie thought it was adorable that he was so… _into_ his impending fatherhood, which she’d told Shirley and Britta when they’d asked how Jeff was doing. Which was why she smiled and thanked him softly when he reached into the bag and pulled out a small bottle of juice, which he handed to her.

“Let’s go check out the house again,” Pierce stated, and led them inside the large building. Annie took a deep swallow of her juice, then took Jeff’s hand as they walked into the house.

Annie looked around at the various rooms. Each room was painted a different color. The entryway was a baby blue, the living room was off-white with a baby blue accent wall. The kitchen was done in shades of white, black, and grey. On and on it went, and Annie was struck yet again by how amazing the house was.

Over an hour later, the four of them stood outside discussing what they’d seen.

“So what did you think this time, Jef-frey?” Shirley asked.

Jeff sighed and rubbed his clean-shaven jaw with his fingers. He glanced at Annie and gave her a small smile. “I like it. I think it would be good for us.” He turned to Pierce. “C’mon, Pierce. Let’s go work out the details.”

Annie waited until Jeff and Pierce had walked away before she turned to Shirley. The both of them squealed and embraced each other.

“I’m so happy for you both, An-nie!” Shirley said excitedly.

“Me too!” Annie said. “I already have so many ideas for how I want to decorate it.” Her eyes widened. “Oh! Shirley, will you help me?”

Shirley nodded and bounced. “Oh of course, An-nie! I would love to!”

The two women hugged again, and quickly dived into planning the logistics of Jeff and Annie’s move.

*** *** *** ***

The group sat together in the cafeteria for lunch, though most of them were done, Annie was still eating, her belly almost pressing against the edge of the table. Jeff wrapped his arm around her shoulders, Shirley on the other side of him, and Pierce on the other side of Annie, as he once again thought about how exactly he was going to fulfill the agreement he and Pierce had made regarding the purchase of his and Annie’s new home.

_“I think I can handle the downpayment,” Jeff told Pierce as they stepped away from Annie and Shirley to talk. With 6 bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms, 7k sq. ft, on a double lot, which meant it was twice the size of any other home in the high-end neighborhood, with teak floors, a gourmet chef’s kitchen with beautiful cabinetry--at least that’s how Annie and Shirley had described it--a large island, stainless steel appliances, double dishwashers, a butler’s pantry, and plenty of space for entertaining--which Jeff knew Annie, and Shirley, would want to do--a music room, though neither he nor Annie were really quite so musically inclined (Annie had grown excited at the prospect of their children taking piano lessons, however, and Shirley had started to sing while standing in the room, declaring that it had the perfect acoustics for “Christmas parties to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ”), a sitting area, separate from the TV area, and a study, Jeff knew that the house was perfect for his and Annie’s growing family. Though 6 bedrooms seemed a bit much, Annie had talked about having family and friends stay over for visits and the holidays, and the “other children” they would have._

_Jeff had to admit that he’d never truly seen himself having more than one child, and the fact that Annie was pregnant with twins already seemed a bit out of the realm of possibility to him. But the thought of_ **_more_ ** _didn’t fill him with the pulsating fear that he expected. Though he was sure that was likely to change after he experienced being a father to twins his first go-round. And yet, he knew that he and Annie would have plenty of help. Between Shirley who was already talking about how “beautiful” their children would be, and Pierce who asked them if he could bring over a nanny to help him whenever he babysat the twins, and Abed and Troy who were just a little too…_ excited _to babysit their kids, Jeff knew they were covered on that front._

_Of course, that was nothing compared to his mother. She would probably try to move in with them once she found out._

He really needed to call and tell her.

_“Are you sure, Jeffrey? The realtor told me that the downpayment for this place is about $319,000 with a 30-year fixed interest loan.”_

_Jeff’s eyes widened. “It’s_ how much?! _” He practically screamed._

 _Pierce patted him on the shoulder. “Why don’t we do this, Jeffrey. I will purchase the house outright for you and Annie… and my grandchildren.” He lifted up his hand when Jeff opened his mouth to refute his statement that their children were his_ anything _, and continued. “I’m buying this house, Jeffrey, and with both you and Annie’s fathers being out of the picture, I’m the closest thing they’ll have to a grandfather. Besides…” he shrugged. “Annie is my favorite.”_

_Jeff sighed and nodded in acquiescence._

_“Now… where was I? Oh! I will buy the house, and you can give me what you can for the downpayment, and we can simply have you and Annie make your mortgage payments directly to me, based on a_ fair _repayment rate.”_

_Jeff narrowed his eyes and stared at Pierce. “Why are you doing this for me? For us?”_

_Pierce patted Jeff on the shoulder and then pointed at Annie and Shirley where they both had gone to sit on the porch seats outside of the home. Annie was smiling and scribbling furiously in the purple binder that she took with her everywhere._

_“That young woman has been through more than most of us, and she still smiles and fills all of our days with sunshine. You are both facing an uphill battle, expecting a child with a disability. She deserves the world, and I know you want to give it to her and your children. I was never lucky enough to have any of my own. Let me do this for you.”_

_Jeff continued to watch Annie, his heart expanding, and the_ **_purple_ ** _, and_ **_gold_ ** _threads thrumming, expanding, and growing stronger. He saw Annie’s eyes widened as she felt the sensation flow through her, and she lifted her gaze to stare across the large yard at him. She gave him a shy smile, and Jeff gave her one in return. He knew what he was going to say. Knew he was going to agree, but he wanted to take another minute to really consider it._

_The backyard of the house led to what could only be described as an oasis, with a built-in grill, fire pit, party lights, and beautiful landscaping. 3-car garage. The first floor master bedroom had a sitting area with built-ins, gas fireplace, two large walk-in closets (which meant that Jeff no longer had to share his closet with Annie--his suits would be so excited), a laundry room right off the kitchen, and the master bathroom was practically a spa with its large jacuzzi--like sunken Greek bath, extra large shower with its four showerheads, one of which was a rainfall showerhead, and backyard views from the double doors that led out to the backyard from the master suite, and the floor-to-ceiling windows._

_There was even an extra large laundry room on the second floor, and a wet bar, theater room, and a game room (which Jeff knew Abed and Troy would love--okay, he loved it too) located on the first floor as well._

_It really was the perfect house. It was perfect for them. Perfect for their children. Perfect for Annie. And Pierce was right, Annie deserved the world, and Jeff did want to give it to her._

_So he shook Pierce’s hand and they agreed on a downpayment of $30,000, a 20-year fixed loan--because Jeff did not want to be paying Pierce back well into his 60’s, and an interest rate of 2.9%. It was reasonable. It was fair. A little_ too _fair, and Jeff had been feeling anxious about the deal ever since._

He needed to find a job making money quick, before his savings from the sale of his first condo, and the one from the condo he and Annie were living in currently, but would be moving out of soon, completely ran out.

He looked around the cafeteria and frowned.

“Why is everyone wearing those hats?” He asked the group, pointing at the green German Alpine hats that some of the students were wearing. “Is the dean planning another ridiculous event, or is the Greendale Hat Club still struggling to be noteworthy?”

“You’re talking about it,” Pierce pointed out.

Jeff scoffed and quickly went into defense mode. “I talk about lots of stuff that annoys me.” He sighed as he heard the quick footsteps of Dean Pelton rushing up behind him. “Speaking of the dean…” He gestured.

“ _Guten Tag_ , homies,” Dean Pelton greeted them excitedly, placing his hand on Jeff’s shoulder. “I hope you’ll all be attending Oktoberfest. It’s not often that we get to celebrate German culture.”

Britta shook her head where she sat next to Troy, both of them wearing dark colored, long-sleeved sweaters, and said, “It’s not often we want to.” Though they had yet to declare themselves “officially” **threaded** , Jeff had noticed them sitting next to each other more often, and wearing clothes that complemented each other. Much like him and Annie, whose purple dress covered in various shades of purple and blue flowers, paired well with his light blue button-down shirt and dark pants.

“Yeah,” Annie hedged. “A little goes a long way,” she said, trying to sound neutral. Shirley reached over to pat Annie’s hand sympathetically and Jeff tightened his arm around her slightly in commiseration.

“True,” Dean Pelton agreed, dressed head-to-toe in traditional Oktoberfest attire. White-button down shirt, green Lederhosen shorts with suspenders, an Alpine hat, slouched socks, and a pair of Bavarian shoes, all with two long, gold chain and pendant resting around his neck. “Greendale’s Oktoberfest has never drawn huge crowds, probably due to our _diversity_ ,” he continued, whispering the last word as if it were a secret and completely misreading the interest of the extremely _diverse_ group he was speaking to. “So this year, we are adding some color. Kick it! I’m gonna give this to you, Troy,” Dean Pelton said, handing the flyer directly to the younger, black man.

“Pop and Locktoberfest,” Troy read aloud and Jeff rolled his eyes at the Dean’s off-color and tone-deafness. The man really didn’t understand how his words and actions made him sound.

Then again, that could be said for much of Greendale.

“The central event will be a pop-and-lock-a-thon,” Dean Pelton explained, moving his body in robotic gestures, which Jeff guessed was his attempt at either doing the “Robot,” “Pop-and-Locking,” or hell, maybe the bald man was having a stroke. “Winner gets to annex Poland. Kidding,” Dean Pelton continued with a chuckle. None of the study group smiled or laughed at the man’s joke.

Not even Pierce.

Which was definitely saying a lot.

“The winner gets an iTunes gift card,” Dean Pelton stated, touching Jeff’s shoulder again. “Okay,” he ended, before walking away.

Jeff looked over at Annie, who shook her head at him sympathetically.

“Oh! A break dance contest. What should we name our team?” Shirley asked excitedly.

“Okay. I’m gonna go hang myself in my walk-in closet,” Jeff said, as he gestured for Shirley to slide out of the way. Shirley frowned at him, before rising from her chair.

“I’m coming with,” Abed remarked.

Jeff stopped when Annie touched his bicep. “Can you get me…”

Jeff gave her a patient smile, even though he knew what she was going to say. _Bag of M &M’s, a Texas Cinnamon Roll, and a bag of Salt & Vinegar chips. _

“A bag of M&M’s, a Texas Cinnamon Roll, and a bag of… salt & vinegar chips?” Annie asked.

Jeff nodded, then leaned down to kiss her forehead. “Sure.”

He and Abed headed towards the vending machines, Jeff’s need to hang himself in his and Annie’s walk-in closet, superseded by his need to satisfy Annie’s cravings. They spoke about how Greendale was becoming more and more cartoonish, when Jeff glanced up and saw _Alan Connor_. His former coworker from Hamish, Hamish, & Hamlin.

_Shit._

“Excuse me, sir. You’re all my friend needs,” Abed called out to Alan, completely misunderstanding Jeff’s words of dismay and embarrassment. “Your mouth isn’t curved upwards. Did I misread something?” Abed asked then, tilting his head to the side. Jeff stared at Abed for a moment longer before he turned towards Alan.

“Ohh… Tango?” Alan greeted.

Jeff nodded. “Sundance.” When Abed pointed at him, Jeff answered the younger man before he could ask. “We worked with different partners.”

“Got it,” Abed nodded.

Jeff gave Alan a false hug and then proceeded to talk to the other man about what he was doing at Greendale, introduced him to Abed, and reminisced over the good ol’ days when he was still a lawyer, and he didn’t have to worry about things like pregnant girlfriends, and babies born with disabilities, and a debt over over 1 million dollars that he owed to Pierce Hawthorne. Of all people. So when Alan invited him to come along with him to a bar, Jeff wasn’t thinking about the affect of Alan on his soul, or his threads with Annie. All he was thinking about was that Alan may be his way back into HH&H, and that was the way he was going to take care of his family _with_ Annie.

So he agreed to drinks with Alan, and the two of them left.

*** *** *** ***

Looking back on it, Jeff really should have noticed earlier the negative way hanging around Alan caused him to act and treat those around him. From the way he talked down to Shirley, and insulted Pierce, the way he shrugged off Annie’s concerns…

Jeff hadn’t realized just how _dangerous_ Alan was for him until he saw the **blue** thread from Alan and the way it tried to worm its way into the **green** and **black** threads that Jeff had with the study group, especially the ones he had with Annie.

 _Fuck_ . Hanging out with this bastard was going to damage his relationship with Annie, and that just wasn’t acceptable. So Jeff knew he would have to stay away from the asshole, but he _needed_ the consulting job he’d been offered that night from Ted, the law firm’s owner. Especially since Ted had offered it at a _starting_ salary of $130,000 a year. That was… Jeff pulled out his phone discreetly and calculated his monthly and biweekly salary… $10,833 and $5,416.50 respectively. Yeah, that money was _essential_. There was so much he could do…

He turned back to the group, who were all looking at him anxiously, Annie especially, her eyes wide as she stared up at him with concern and worry in her gaze. She, Troy, and Abed had gone through a lot to get the evidence that proved that Alan was the one who turned Jeff into the Colorado State Bar Association for having not truly earned his bachelor’s degree. Annie especially. For all of Alan’s disgustingness when it came to women, he was even more of a toad when it came to pregnant women. His eyes hadn’t left Annie’s chest since the moment the group had arrived. Which had induced a feeling in Jeff that he only felt when it had something to do with Annie.

It was more than just jealousy, and envy, it was a fierce possessiveness and _rage_.

He needed to get the group, especially Annie, out of there as quickly as possible. Annie in her red, flowered, wraparound, maternity dress. She was so beautiful that Jeff was surprised that Alan was the only one being disgusting.

“You’re right. He is a bad friend. But he is a good lawyer. Now I appreciate you guys caring, but you have to understand, I don’t. Caring is lethal around here. It’s a disease. And even here, surrounded by lawyers who don’t even care about the numerous children they’ve had, you guys have it. I don’t.” Jeff looked down at Annie, hoping she could see the things he was unable to say. He placed his hand on her baby bulge and gave her a small smile. “I can’t. I have too much to care about and care for, to care about having or making friends here. I can’t allow myself to. So, if you do care about me, don’t infect me.” He leaned down and placed a kiss on Annie’s forehead, squeezed Shirley’s hand, and nodded at Troy. He tried not to be too bothered by the look of sadness and astonishment on Annie’s face, but it pricked his heart.

_Too late. I’m already infected._

“Now, go win that pop-and-lock-a-thon. I’ll see most of you Monday.” He glanced down at Annie. “And I’ll see you at home? I might be late.” He nodded at them all, then walked away.

Extremely aware of the strength of threads he had with the group, with Annie, weakening slightly.

And after speaking with Alan and discovering just how… _evil_ the other man was, Jeff knew what he had to do.

*** *** *** ***

“Ah, no parking on the dance floor, Winger,” Dean Pelton said. “No, I’m serious. You’re disqualified.”

Jeff looked up from where he was clutching Annie to him tightly, and smirked at the other man. He could see the yearning to be included in the group hug in the other man’s eyes, but Jeff didn’t care just then. The only thing that mattered was the woman in his arms, and the people who surrounded them.

Which was why he treated them all out for dinner. Okay. Pizza. But what did they expect? He was a family man now. He couldn’t continue to treat them out for steaks, or lobsters, when he had a family to care for. But if the smiles they gave him were any indication, they didn’t mind.

That night, Jeff waited for Annie to come back to bed after she’d gotten up to use the bathroom. It was something that was happening with more frequency here lately. Annie spent most of her time in the bathroom these days, if she wasn’t throwing up, she was using it. Jeff usually spent that time working out, but the condo was full of boxes. They were in every room, stacked against the walls, with barely enough space for the furniture.

Jeff looked down at the legal pad he held, where he had been making lists and notes, detailing what needed to be done, and what had already been done. Annie was so proud of him that they’d started getting hot and heavy.

Which was why she was now in the bathroom. Apparently having sex with Annie, even in the safe positions still caused her to rush off to the toilet immediately after. Jeff had way too much arrogance to think that it had anything to do with him.

_Hmmm… what am I missing?_

_Cribs (2)_

_Changing Tables (2-one in nursery, one in bathroom on 2nd floor)_

_Baby clothes (Annie wants purple, do they have purple for boys too?)_

_Baby burping cloths (We’ve gotten a lot already but Shirley says we need more)_

_Baby shoes_

_Diapers (Shirley says we can never have too much)_

_Baby lotion_

_Baby shampoo_

_Baby conditioner (is that a thing?)_

_Baby hair gel (is that a thing? Have to make sure the twins look good)_

_Rocking Chairs (Nursery, living room, sitting room, front porch, back patio, does Annie want one anywhere else?)_

_Maternity clothes for Annie (she’s getting bigger)_

_Ballet flats for Annie (maybe I should see if Britta and Shirley will take her shopping)_

_Baby wipes_

_Diaper cream_

_Diaper Genie (probably need one for every room in the house, apparently babies poop a lot. gross)_

_A bucket for all of Annie’s purple pens (really should have reconsidered that, a lot of people love my Annie and are excited about the twins, we have two boxes of nothing but her pens)_

The bathroom door opened and Jeff glanced up as Annie stepped in the room, frowning as she glanced down at her phone.

“What’s the matter?” Jeff asked her as he set his legal pad to the side.

Annie looked at him. “I got a message from Dean Stephen Spreck.”

Jeff’s eyebrows lowered. “What? Why?”

Annie sighed and looked up at him. “Remember last year when I was thinking about transferring to City College?”

Jeff’s heart pounded in his chest. “Y-yeah. You’re um… you’re not still thinking about it, are you?” He asked, aware of the nervousness that caused his voice to wobble.

Annie tilted her head to the side and gave him a gentle look. “No, Jeff. Of course not. Greendale is my home. Besides, you know that even if I did, that wouldn’t mean that you would lose me, right?” She gestured between the two of them. “This doesn’t end just because I go to another school. Or because you go back to being a lawyer. We live together, we’re expecting children together.” She ran a hand over her belly, a soft smile curving her lips. “We’ll be okay.”

Jeff didn’t want to show any trace of insecurity, but he still had to ask. “Promise?”

Annie walked over to him and took his face in her hands. “I promise,” she replied, before leaning down to press her lips against his. There wasn’t much furniture still left in the condo, but the most important one was there.

The bed.

Jeff wrapped his arms around Annie, tugged her down onto his lap, and deepened the kiss. He moaned as the taste of her exploded over his tongue. _God above, she was delicious_.

After long moments, Jeff lifted his lips from her mouth and rested his forehead against hers.

“So what did the dean want?”

Annie blinked for a moment, then cleared her throat. “He wants me to sabotage Greendale’s simulated space launch tomorrow.”

Jeff pulled back.

“How?”

Annie shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Jeff pointed at her phone. “Let’s find out, then we can figure out a way to sabotage the sabotage.”

“Should we tell the rest of the group?”

Jeff grinned a little evilly. “No…”

In the end, they probably should have clued the group in on their plans, that way things could have gone according to plan. Abed was supposed to be onboard, Annie was supposed to stay behind, and figure out a way to report where the tow truck was taking the group ahead of time. Jeff figured Dean Spreck would come to Greendale to gloat, and he wanted the other man to be there in order to see Greendale win. But Abed had needed to go and get an outfit from his dorm room, and Annie had been talking to Shirley and Britta about their plans to go shopping later that day. So she’d been trapped inside with them, and even with her pregnant belly, she was still the skinniest of them all. Jeff had been worried the entire time as the group helped to slip her through the hole to the driver’s seat of the Winnebago that housed the KFC Space Simulator. He worried as she drove them back to Greendale, and worried even more when the vehicle came to swerving, shuddering halt.

As soon as she opened the door, to let them all out, and Pierce ran away screaming, Jeff stepped out and took her into his arms, holding her tightly, barely hearing the applause from the waiting crowd.

“Don’t ever do that to me again,” he whispered against the top of her head.

Annie snorted. “I’m pregnant, Jeff. Not dying.”

“Still.”

“Well, Anne,” Dean Spreck said as he stepped up to them. “I suppose you’re not City College material after all.”

Annie smiled and cuddled closer to Jeff’s body, and Jeff found himself humming a bit with satisfaction. But his happiness and contentment were only going to be short lived, he knew it. After all, his life had never settled into those two feelings for too long.

“Thank you,” Annie said.

Jeff and Annie watched as Dean Spreck stomped away, then ducked when the Winnebago they had just been in caught fire.

“Oh, Greendale,” Jeff shook his head.

“Jef-frey?” Shirley cooed as she stepped up to him and Annie. “Can you please release An-nie so that we girls can go shop-ping?”

Jeff whined a little, but placed another kiss on Annie’s lips and let her go. Then he reached into his back pocket for his wallet. He pulled out his credit card and handed it to Shirley.

“Make sure she eats, huh, Shirley?” He directed.

Shirley nodded. “I will, Jef-frey. Come on, An-nie! We’ve got his credit card!”

The girls took off running, laughter drifting behind them on the wind, and Jeff grinned, trying to ignore the clenching of his gut that was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

*** *** *** ***

“You’re not in charge of what I eat,” Pierce said to Abed when the younger man pointed out that he had a lot of pasta on his plate and no vegetables, at lunch the next week.

“True,” Abed nodded. “Britta!”

Britta walked over, smiling almost shyly at Troy as she stepped away from him, and looked down at Pierce’s plate, before glancing back up at him. She gave him a stern look.

“And some damn broccoli, please,” Pierce told the cafeteria worker. Britta nodded in satisfaction.

Jeff and Annie stood off to the side, watching the interaction, waiting for the rest of the group to arrive to the table. Jeff held Annie’s right hand, balancing her tray on top of his in his free grip, while Annie held a bottle of ginger ale in her other hand, sipping from it occasionally. Jeff wished the rest of the group would hurry up. Not only did he want to put those trays down, but he had a very important voicemail that he wanted to return.

 _“Hello, Mr. Winger. This is Patricia, from PTHA, The Prenatal, Toddler, and Homeschool Association. We received your message, and like you, we believe that it’s never too early to start teaching your young one, or in your case, young ones. I truly believe that we have the materials that can really help you and your_ **_gold_ ** _threaded partner, Miss Edison. By the way, congratulations, not only on finding your_ **_gold_ ** _thread, but also on the twins. Please give me a call back at: 720-555-8432.”_

“Pierce has been acting out a lot lately,” Annie mused out loud, and Jeff frowned in the older man’s direction. “Maybe you should talk to him?”

Jeff turned to look directly at her. “How is that _my_ job?”

Annie shrugged. “Aren’t you like, doing everything you can to get ready to be a dad? Aren’t you kind of like the dad of this group? Well… to everyone but me?”

Jeff scoffed. “Especially not to you. Dads don’t do to their daughters the things that I have done and will do to you…” He frowned again. “At least, not… _normal_ dads.”

Annie placed her now empty ginger ale bottle in the trash in front of them, before she smacked Jeff’s shoulder. “Ew! Jeff!”

Jeff simply shrugged and smirked. “Also, would “the dad” of the group walk away from this conversation?”

Annie frowned at him in confusion. “No?”

Jeff nodded, then released her hand and walked away. Annie stood there for a moment, baffled before she scoffed.

“Jeff! You have my lunch!”

She hurried after him, or she went as quickly as her new body would allow her to go. She sat down next to Jeff who chuckled at her, before giving her the hidden Texas Cinnamon Roll that he had put in her bag. She swooned slightly and leaned up to kiss his cheek.

“Thank you, Jeff, but don’t ever walk away with my food again,” she told him firmly, before digging into the food before her.

“So, I figure if no one is doing anything this weekend, then can we all get together and help Annie and I move into the house?” Jeff suggested.

Annie glanced up. “Did we pass escrow and finish closing on the house?” She asked excitedly, bouncing up and down, clapping.

Jeff gave her a fond grin. “You really don’t hear me when I talk in the morning, do you?”

“Oohh, Jef-frey. I know you two are **gold** threaded, but you’re still not married, and are thereby living in sin. Though I am praying for the both of you. But I do ask that you not speak of such things in front of me,” Shirley stated.

Annie rolled her eyes. “Shirley, I _was_ living with you, but you kicked me out and sent me to live with Jeff. Remember?”

The rest of the group looked at Shirley, whose brown skin showed a tinge of red beneath the skin as she blushed.

“That is none of your business, Annie,” Shirley stated, her voice losing its soft, cloying tone.

“And neither is the fact that Jeff and I aren’t married,” Annie pointed out.

“Hey, let’s focus here,” Jeff stated, as he took Annie’s hand. Annie didn’t realize until that moment that her hands were shaking. Which surprised her. Shirley’s holier-than-thou attitude was nothing new, neither were her judgemental statements regarding Annie and Jeff’s unmarried, “sinful,” state, but for some reason…

It bothered her more today than it had before.

That was something that she would have to talk about with… someone. Someone outside of the study group.

Maybe she should think about talking to a therapist.

Or maybe… maybe she needed to go to a NA meeting.

*** *** *** ***

The group sat around the table, Jeff holding a newspaper, leaning back in his chair as he read.

“Did you just _Scripture_ me, Muslim?” Shirley asked Abed tersely.

Annie shrugged. “Jesus was Jewish,” she pointed out.

Shirley sighed and rolled her eyes. “Are you ever gonna let that go?”

Jeff lowered his newspaper slightly and looked at the group. “Hey. No religious talk.”

Everyone grew quiet until Pierce came in, looking and acting like a rebellious teen… only the “Old Edition” of one. After he stormed out, Shirley promised Abed that she was going to shut down the production of his movie, and Jeff leaned over to take Annie’s hand.

“Hey, you okay?” He asked.

Annie looked back at him and gave him a small smile and a nod. “Yes, Jeff. I am.” When he frowned, she leaned over, waiting for him to close the distance between them and place a kiss on her lips. “I promise.”

*** *** *** ***

**_Annie: T & A. J is wearing blue, long-sleeved shirt with white t-shirt underneath, and dark jeans._ **

**_Abed: Noted._ **

**_Troy: What color blue?_ **

**_Abed: Let’s try again tomorrow. Need to do laundry._ **

**_Annie: Okay._ **

*** *** *** ***

**_Annie: J is wearing black button-down shirt and dark blue jeans. Black sneakers._ **

**_Abed: Got it. Meet in the study room 5 minutes after he gets there._ **

**_Annie: I will bring clothes to change into, so he doesn’t suspect._ **

**_Troy: Abed, are you sure he’s going to follow the script?_ **

**_Abed: Jeff is many things, but he is also very predictable when it comes to his clothing._ **

**_Annie: That’s true. Plus we have to do this today, I think he suspects something because I have been sifting through his clothes that are left in the closet._ **

**_Troy: Okay, so black button down. Tucked in or out?_ **

**_Annie: Out! He never tucks in his shirts, Troy._ **

**_Abed: …. I think he will for the right reason._ **

**_Annie: Um… okay, Abed._ **

**_Troy: Can Pierce join in?_ **

**_Annie: Why???_ **

**_Troy: I’m not saying I left my phone behind on the kitchen table when I went to the downstairs bathroom but…_ **

**_Annie: Fine! Just… stick to the schedule everyone. Jeff and I have another doctor appointment today. And then we’re going shopping for our Halloween costumes._ **

**_Abed: Nice. What couple are you going to be?_ **

**_Troy: Hansel and Gretle?_ **

**_Abed: Troy, they were brother and sister._ **

**_Annie: Also, Jeff doesn’t really_ ** **do** **_couple costumes. So he’s going as David Beckham and I’m going as Little Red Riding Hood, so I can have on a cape and cover up my belly._ **

**_Troy: Don’t cover it up! I love your belly. My nieces or nephews are in there._ **

**_Abed: Exactly. It is proof that you are fertile and desirable enough to someone to have them impregnate you. In Muslim culture it means you are blessed._ **

**_Annie: That’s what it means in most cultures and religions, Abed. And Troy, I could be having one of each._ **

**_Troy: A boy_ ** **and** **_a girl? But how is that possible if they both come from the same split egg? Isn’t an egg either a girl or a boy?_ **

**_Annie:_ **

**_Abed:_ **

**_Annie:_ **

**_Abed:_ **

**_Troy: … well?_ **

**_Annie; Troy… we’ll talk about this at school. Later. We’re getting ready to head to the campus. Hope you two are ready._ **

*** *** *** ***

_Halloween_

After seeing the empty packages the dean had thrown into the trash, Jeff had decided to go out and get some pizza or burgers for Annie to eat while at the Halloween party at Greendale. When he wandered back in, he found Annie standing next to a giant banana… _Rich_ … and in front of a sweaty and bloated Pierce.

“I just want to make sure that it’s okay to eat,” Annie stated.

“Well, I wouldn’t. The military doesn’t really make foods okay for pregnant women,” Rich responded.

“No need, Annie. Here’s something for you,” Jeff said, nodding as Annie placed the bag in her Little Red Riding Hood basket, before digging her hands inside the white bag for the fries inside.

“Oh, Jeff, can you go help Britta with her refreshments? I’m helping Rich with the students who keep getting sick. And Troy is off… somewhere with Abed,” Annie asked.

Jeff looked back and forth between her and Rich, not wanting to leave her with the “Perfect” doctor. Annie sighed in exasperation, then grabbed his right hand and placed it on her belly. She leaned up to place a kiss on his lips.

“We’ll be fine,” she said, her mouth still pressed against his. “And there’s nothing to worry about. I’m with you. No one else.”

Jeff nodded, then stepped away to go and help Britta, who, no matter what she said, was dressed like a dragon turtle. He wouldn’t have been doing it if Annie hadn’t asked him, and he wondered if other Jeff’s in other universes helped Britta eat and drink on Halloween because she chose a bad costume.

 _Ugh. I sound like Abed. There_ are _no other universes._

Jeff rolled his eyes and grabbed Britta a drink, grimacing as the smell of sugar and liquor wafted up to his nostrils from the “special Greendale fruit punch.”

 _Disgusting_.

Jeff turned his head when he heard screaming, high-pitched and feminine. When the other partygoers said it was Starburns, who had apparently been bitten--what the _fuck?_ \--by Pierce, the tension eased a bit from Jeff’s body.

“Have you noticed a weird vibe taking hold of this party?” Jeff asked Britta as he helped her drink from the plastic cup he held. He looked around, trying to find Annie, then sighed in relief when he saw her, seemingly unharmed, standing with… _Rich._

_Handsome, too perfect, bastard._

“It’s like every fifth person is on something seriously hardcore,” Jeff mused.

Britta rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I wonder who’s holding, the key to your riddle.”

Jeff scoffed. “Britta, you’re the worst.”

She frowned. “No, _you_ are. And why aren’t you over there with Annie?”

Jeff pointed at her. “Because Annie asked me to make sure that I fed and watered you, like you were a plant or something.”

Britta groaned and pushed Jeff’s shoulder. “Well, go away and tell the little wifey that you’ve done your duty. I’m gonna go find Troy.”

Jeff shrugged. “Okay. Fine.” And he proceeded to walk towards Annie with single-minded focus, easily ignoring the Greendale students and faculty who seemed to be walking stiffly, sweating, groaning, and… _biting_ each other.

“I always knew the students at this school were freaky,” he muttered to himself.

*** *** *** ***

“His symptoms are progressing even faster than everyone else’s,” Rich stated.

“How much of that taco meat stuff did you eat, Starburs?” Annie asked.

The slightly older guy, with curly dark hair, stars shaved into his sideburns, who was a known drug dealer, and dressed as a pirate, shook his head and trembled. His skin had gone a ghastly pale, with a grey tinge to it, he was sweating profusely, and his eyes appeared hazy, unfocused. Dazed. Spittle collecting in the corners of his mouth

“I didn’t eat any. My name is Alex,” Starburns corrected her.

“Whatever it is must have transferred through Pierce’s bite,” Annie deduced.

“My God, I think you’re right. Annie, you make quite the little nurse,” Rich complimented her.

Annie preened. It’s what she did whenever anyone complimented her intelligence, it didn’t mean she felt anything at all for him, beyond respect for him as her doctor and friend. But she still curtsied slightly.

“Thank you, Rich. You’re… quite a banana,” she said with a grin.

Starburns rolled his eyes. “Jeez, why don’t you guys just get a ro--” he started saying, before his words began to slur and he started to growl. He rose and pursued them with a stiff-legged walk, his arms outstretched, and Annie screamed, Rich right behind her.

“Guys, there’s some kind of an infection at the party that’s making people act weird and bite each other. We need to coordinate an orderly evacuation, without causing any unnecessary panic,” Annie stated just before someone screamed as Leonard grabbed a female coed and bit her neck.

“Holy crap, Leonard’s a zombie!” Troy screamed.

“Zombie attack!” Abed yelled.

The party descended into chaos, and Annie shook her head.

“Never mind,” she stated.

She took Jeff’s hand as the group, sans Pierce, and with Rich ran towards the doors of the library. Where Dean Pelton was closing and locking them inside.

“Um… um!” Jeff stated as he pulled on the handles.

“I’m sorry!” Dean Pelton apologized in his Lady Gaga costume as he continued closing doors and locking them inside.

“Open the door!” Britta screamed.

“I’ve been told we need a little baby quarantine until the Army gets here,” Dean Pelton explained.

“The Army?” They all exclaimed.

Annie wrapped her arms protectively around her belly and looked up at Jeff in fear.

“I know, right?” Dean Pelton remarked as he locked the second set of doors and pulled the gate closed. “They said to wait for six hours. Stay strong!”

“Dean! Annie’s pregnant!” Jeff yelled out, as he tried to protect her.

“Guys, I hate to be the ‘we’ve got company’ guy, but…” Abed said, pointing.

Jeff held up his soccer ball, fully prepared to launch it at whomever got close to Annie and their unborn babies.

“Hey, guess who I am?” Chang asked, walking up at that moment. The group of “zombies,” turned towards Chang then. “Or don’t.” Chang backed away as the group screamed.

“Head to the back!” Jeff ordered. “And protect Annie and the twins!”

The group screamed, surrounding Annie as they ran off to the back of the library where another set of doors were. Jeff threw his soccer ball at one of the lumbering coeds when she came directly towards them, glancing back at Annie to make sure she was okay.

“You punched a lady bee,” Troy pointed out.

Jeff forced open the study room doors from Chang and pulled the couch in front of them. He checked to make sure everyone was okay, then began calling 9-1-1. He checked Annie over, assuring himself that she was okay, as Rich began to explain that it wasn’t the end of days, but was, in fact, some sort of rabies-related pathogen affecting the prefrontal cortex of the brain. Jeff folded his jacket and lay it over a chair.

“This pathogen is spread through bites. So if anyone has been bitten, and you allow us to seal ourselves in here with you, you’re putting us all in danger,” Rich stated.

Annie nodded, then looking at Jeff, she shook her head when he lifted his eyebrows at her. She wasn’t bitten, and his answering nod, and outstretched arms assured her that he was okay as well. She sighed in relief, then walked towards him to bury her head in his chest.

“Jeff, I’m scared. A rabies bite could…”

Jeff rubbed her arms comfortingly. “I know.” He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”

Jeff backed away from her and helped the other guys barricade the room. Annie sat down on the couch, then asked Rich if they lowered the temperature of the whole building if it would break the fever and kill the virus.

“It might,” Rich replied.

Abed jumped over a chair. “I know where the thermostat is, out there on the wall,” he stated. “Troy, we have to rise to the occasion like Ripley and kick monster butt in our undies.” He looked at the other guy.

“I’m not Ripley, Abed. I’m a cool, sexy Dracula,” Troy remarked, winking at Britta. “I make love to ladies, and I survive.”

Jeff nodded. “I’m with Troy. We stay in here and stay safe.” He stood behind Annie’s chair. “We keep _Annie_ and my babies, safe.”

“Guys!” Annie admonished them, pushing Jeff. “Those are not zombies. Those are our classmates, and they’re sick.”

Troy spread his arms wide. “And they can make us sick by biting us. They can really hurt you and the babies if they bite you! The banana said so.”

Annie hesitated for a moment, biting her lower lip as fear spread through her. She didn’t want to be bitten, was pretty sure that whatever good _hashgacha pratit_ she’d had up until that point in regards to her twins would run out if she put herself in harm’s way. And yet… wouldn’t she find herself suffering _more_ if she didn’t?

“It’s true,” Rich stated. “The incubation only takes minutes. First you get a stomach ache, then your skin turns red. Followed by cold sweats, muscle spasms, high fever. Then the uncontrollable urge to bite on uninfected flesh.”

Annie looked around to see if anyone was reacting or showing the symptoms that Rich was describing.

“And I forgot one symptom,” Rich added. “ _Slurred speech_ ,” his words slurring, and Annie jumped up from her chair to hide behind Jeff as she screamed.

Jeff pointed at the doctor angrily. “You got bit!” He backed away from Rich, with Annie right behind him.

“I felt like maybe I was special,” Rich replied.

“Special? You’re not special!” Britta argued. “I’m special! I was bit 10 minutes ago, and I’m _fiine_.”

“Oh, great! Nobody’s special!” Jeff yelled, picking up a chair and pushing it out towards Rich and Britta, making sure Annie stayed behind him. “Hey Rich, just so you know, I hate you less now. That’s how much I hate your normal self. Our doctor or not!” He ensured that Annie was behind him, and she gripped the back of his shirt tightly in her fists.

“You have to destroy the brain,” Chang yelled, as he threw an ice skate through the window. The “zombies” from outside the room, pressed their way inside.

“Way to go, Chang! Run, run!” Jeff dictated. “Head for the stairs!” Annie kept her grip on Jeff’s shirt, Shirley, Chang, Abed, and Troy surrounding her, as they ran through the hallways, Jeff punching, shoving, and pushing people out of the way. “Don’t look back!”

Annie screamed when she felt Shirley and Chang fall away.

“Jeff! What about Shirley!” She called out.

“Annie! Don’t look back!”

Jeff led them down the stairs, locking the door to the basement behind them. Annie trembled with fear as Abed and Troy argued behind her about being nerds or something, whispering over and over the Jewish prayer for protection and safety at night. _The Hashkiveinu_.

_Grant, O G-d, that we lie down in peace, and raise us up, our Guardian, to life renewed. Spread over us the shelter of Your peace. Guide us with Your good counsel; for Your Name’s sake, be our help. Shield and shelter us beneath the shadow of Your wings. Defend us against enemies, illness, war, famine and sorrow. Distance us from wrongdoing. For You, G-d, watch over us and deliver us. For You, G-d, are gracious and merciful. Guard our going and coming, to life and to peace evermore._

“Annie? What are you doing?” Jeff asked her.

“I’m praying, Jeff,” she told him as she repeated the prayer beneath her breath once again.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you pray before.”

Annie sighed. “Well, I do. Usually when you’re already asleep, or when you’re busy, or not paying attention. I go to Shabbat services at the local Temple, Temple Emanuel in Denver while you’re at the gym Friday night, and go back on Saturday morning, when you go back to the gym.”

Jeff turned to look down at her. “Why? You know I know that you’re Jewish right? And that it doesn’t bother me?”

Annie shrugged as she fiddled with the hem of her red, hooded cape. “I know, it’s just that… my father always complained about how many services, and festivals, and holidays my mother had us celebrate, and I…”

Jeff shook his head and grabbed her shoulders in both hands.

“Annie, I can’t believe that I need to say this to you, but… I’m not your father. I’m not _my_ father. One of the perks of being Agnostic is that I don’t care what other people believe. I don’t care how they choose to celebrate or worship their beliefs. But we’re going to have children soon.” He placed his hand on her belly, and Annie shivered, as she always did when he touched or stroked or caressed her there. She could feel their threads thrumming. “And if being Jewish, that part of you, is that important to you, then let me know and we can do it together. Do it with our kids.”

Annie’s eyes widened. “Oh, Jeff! Really?”

He shrugged. “Yeah, sure. I can always go work out _after_ it’s over. It’s not _too_ long is it? I mean, I’d hate to fall asleep in the middle.”

Annie laughed wetly, tears rolling down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around his waist. “I think you’ll be okay. Thank you, Jeff.”

“Anytime.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. They stood like that for a moment, before Jeff hushed Abed and Troy’s arguing.

“Did you guys hear that?” Troy asked, just before a cat screeched and leapt in front of Annie and Jeff.

“Jeez!” Jeff yelled as he ducked. He laughed. “It was just a cat. Let’s keep moving.”

The cat kept jumping back and forth, and the four of them chased after it since Jeff was determined to catch it.

“That door should lead upstairs, and the thermostat will be right there,” Abed stated as he pointed to the door they’d come to.

“Enough with the thermostat, Abed!” Jeff practically growled. “This is not “pretend playtime, save the world” time. It’s quarter past “let’s get the hell out of this building” time. Or at least an hour past “get my family out of this building” time.”

They all looked around, Annie touched at Jeff’s single-minded focus to get her and their unborn twins to safety, but she touched his arm and gave it a little squeeze.

“I’ll apologize once you’re safe,” he told her, and she nodded.

“There. There’s a window,” Abed pointed. They all looked towards the window that was up near the ceiling then back down at Annie’s belly. “Alright, if we climb that dusty fence, we can hoist each other against the wall, and then squeeze through it. Troy first, then Annie, then Jeff, and finally me.”

Jeff looked back and forth at them, then the door, and back at the window. “I vote we take the door.”

“He doesn’t wanna dirty his suit,” Abed remarked and Annie gasped.

“Jeff!”

“For real?” Troy asked.

“Annie! $6,000!” Jeff pointed out.

She put her hands on her hips. “You spent _how much_ on a _suit_?”

Jeff shrugged.

“I’ll help make sure you and Troy get out through the window, then Abed and I will take the door.”

He walked over to the gate, with the rest of them following behind them, between Jeff and Abed, Troy was boosted up out of the window, and Annie was lifted up, her back to the wall, and slid free of the window, which was thankfully big enough to accommodate her larger belly. She looked down through the open window as Jeff and Abed headed back towards the door.

 _I love you, Jeff_ . She thought to herself, and for a moment she worried that she’d said the words out loud when Jeff froze and looked back at her, their **purple** thread vibrating and growing stronger, but he simply looked at Troy.

“You take care of them until we meet back up, okay?” Jeff commanded.

Troy nodded. “It will be my honor. Abed?” Troy waited until Abed looked up at him. “I love you.”

Abed inclined his head. “I know.”

Annie wiped away the tears which were rolling down her cheeks at how _easy_ it was for the two of them to express their feelings for one another--Abed having done it in his own way--and wondered why it was so hard for her and Jeff. It wasn’t just because it was a different kind of love, or feelings. Annie knew Jeff felt it because she’d felt the **purple** thread vibrate from his end _towards_ her more than once. And yet… she could only think it. Not say it.

And that made her sad.

But the sight of the “zombies” streaming in through the door Jeff had just opened, made her scream.

“Annie! Come on! Let’s go. Let’s go!” Troy helped her up and they rushed around towards the front of the library, where they found Dean Pelton, still in his Lady Gaga costume, pacing in front of the building.

“Ah-uh! Annie. Troy. Be honest. Are you a zombie?” He asked. “I will mace you.”

“Gimme the keys,” Troy stated. “Those people are gonna get brain damage if someone doesn’t help ‘em. And Annie needs to be out of there so she doesn’t lose her babies.”

Dean Pelton glanced over at Annie guiltily, before turning back to Troy. “I understand about Annie, Troy, but there is something called chain of command, so unfortunately…”

Annie screamed, distracting the dean, so that Troy could lean forward and punch him in the stomach. Troy grabbed the keys from the dean’s pocket.

“Are you crazy? How are you gonna survive those zombies?” Dean Pelton asked, looking up at Troy.

“I’m gonna be a nerd,” Troy answered.

“Better have a Plan B!” The dean yelled in response, taking Annie’s hand and allowing her to assist him to his feet. The two of them watched as Troy went inside, closing and locking the doors behind him.

“Annie, you will tell Jeffrey that I never meant you or your babies to come to any harm, won’t you?” Dean Pelton asked her.

Annie rolled her eyes. “It won’t matter to him, Dean. You put me and our twins in danger. Besides…” she shrugged. “He’s not the one you should be worried about.”

The dean frowned at her. “Who…”

Annie leaned forward towards him. “Shirley…”

Dean Pelton’s eyes widened just as a number of SUV’s came screeching to a halt in front of them.

“Out of the way, out of the way, out of the way!”

“Lock down the perimeter!”

“We got movement inside!”

“In position!”

“You’re Dean Pelton?” An older man wearing sunglasses at night asked.

“Speaking,” Dean Pelton answered. “And this is one of Greendale’s best students, Miss Annie Edison. As you can see, she is not showing any symptoms and she’s pregnant with twins... “ He glanced at his phone. “Wow, six hours on the dot.”

“Yeah, well, practice makes perfect,” the unnamed man stated. “Are you two the only witnesses?”

Annie nodded. “We are.”

“All right,” he nodded to the other man, who was similarly dressed in a black suit, black tie, and white shirt, sunglasses on his face. The other strange man reaching into his jacket for something. Annie’s eyes widened and she took a small step back.

“Hey! We got uninfected in here!” One of the soldiers called back.

“How many are we talking?” The leader asked.

“Think it might be all of ‘em,” was the response.

“All right, scenario B, Repeat, scenario B. Let’s dose these suckers.”

Annie frowned at Dean Pelton, as they both turned back to the leader.

“Dose what now?” Dean Pelton asked as he was sprayed in the face with something.

Annie held up a hand, the other curving around her belly.

“Don’t worry, Miss Edison. It’s completely safe for your twins. Mazel tov by the way.”

Annie smiled and softened a bit. “Aww, thank you so…”

She was dosed as well…

When she opened her eyes she found herself on the couch next to Jeff, who was holding her tenderly and with great concern, as a paramedic checked her over. She blinked at Jeff and everyone in the room.

“W-what happened?” She asked.

“Someone mass-roofied the entire party. I can’t believe it,” Britta stated, her arms folded across her chest.

Annie’s eyes widened with panic, but Jeff soothed her. “They said you didn’t get it as bad as the rest of us,” he reassured her. “That you probably only got a contact dose from kissing me.” He shook his head and Annie could see the guilt sweeping over his face. “I can’t believe I put you in danger.”

Annie shook her head and thanked the paramedic as he rose and declared her and the babies safe and okay. She looked at Jef and took his face in her hands.

“I don’t know why, but I kind of remember things differently.” She shook her head. “But it doesn’t matter. We’re okay. We’re all okay.”

*** *** *** ***

Annie gasped awake as a twinge of pain shot through her lower abdomen. She rubbed the spot, then sighed with a smile when she felt an answering kick in response.

“Wh-whut... What’s wrong? Annie are you okay?” Jeff asked as he jerked upright beside her.

Annie reached over to pat his hand.

“Yes, Jeff. I’m fine,” she reassured him, as she kept rubbing her belly. He frowned at her.

“Why did you gasp then?” He questioned.

Annie smiled at him. “How did you know that I gasped? You were dead to the world, you were sleeping so hard.”

He rubbed his face with his palms and grunted. “I know. There’s a lot of cases that Ted has been giving me to consult on. So between those, and the move, and classes…” He stopped when Annie snorted. “Okay, going to classes, even if I’m not fully paying attention, and getting ready for these two…” He stroked Annie’s bare belly gently with a small smile on his face. Though it had initially embarrassed her to show off her rounded belly to him, as well as her fuller breasts, and the stretch marks that she had along the bottom and curve of them all, dark ones that showed how her body had grown and stretched beyond her original form, Annie had grown comfortable within her skin. Not only because of the way Jeff held her, treated her, and worshipped her body, but because of all the other women, the moms she talked to online, through social media, Shirley, even the moms she met when she was out shopping with either Shirley, Britta, Jeff, Pierce, or Abed and Troy, who shared their own “battlefield scars” or “marks of life and love.”

“I’m just exhausted,” Jeff continued. “But that doesn’t mean that I don’t listen out for you, even while I’m asleep.”

“Awww,” Annie cooed and cuddled up to him, wrapping her arms around his naked torso. Jeff hummed as he ran his hand up and down her bare back. “That’s so sweet, Jeff.”

“Yeah, well. Don’t tell anyone. I have a reputation to maintain.”

Annie giggled, a sound which morphed into a sigh of pleasure when Jeff lifted a hand to gently stroke her bare, swollen breasts.

“What time is it?” He asked softly as she pressed herself closer to him, before placing a kiss onto her forehead. Her cheeks. Her chin. Her lips.

Annie glanced over at the clock on her nightstand as Jeff kissed his way down her neck and over a shoulder. He pressed her backwards, and Annie felt herself grow moist and desperate to feel him inside of her.

“We have about an hour until Abed and Troy show up,” she gasped. She knew the habits of almost all of their friends, although Britta and Pierce were always surprising her. But in this she knew them quite well. Shirley would show up with her kids, and perhaps a cousin or two, maybe even the guy she had been seeing, in an hour and a half to make breakfast and order Annie to sit in a corner, put her feet up, and not move. Abed and Troy would arrive in an hour because Abed said he needed “B Reel” of the group helping Annie and Jeff move into the new house, so he wanted to show up early to set up his cameras. He and Troy would also show up that early to eat whatever food was still in the refrigerator, try to poach some of the “pregnancy snacks” that Jeff and Shirley were always making for her. The two young men also wanted to play with some of Jeff’s toys, and see if Annie really “threw up her organs every morning,” since that was how Jeff had described it to them. Britta would show up in two hours or so, because she would oversleep her alarm, then would be hungover or too high to function for a moment, so she would stumble in, with shades on her face, wearing her leather jacket, demanding that they all remained quiet, as she snarked and snapped at Jeff, and helped them move with a strength that was surprising for her size.

Pierce would show up in three hours, with professional movers, and a truck for the furniture and the bulk of the boxes, muttering about the time, and reminding them all that he’d “given” the very expensive house to Annie and Jeff. Thereby Jeff owed him, but Annie didn’t because she was his favorite. He would wander around the condo, searching for something he could tease them about, then he would mention that they didn’t have enough furniture or dishes or clothes or plants, or whatever, for the massive home they were about to live in, and Annie would have to stop Jeff from attacking him.

“I think that’s enough time, how about you?” Jeff questioned her, his lips pressed against her sternum as he nuzz;ed his face into her cleavage.

Annie shivered. “I know it is.”

Forty five minutes later, Annie giggled as Jeff washed her back, nibbling on the side of her neck.

“Look at that, got it done with enough time to shower,” he teased her.

Annie rolled her eyes. “Just so you know, Jeff, getting it done _fast_ is not the same as getting it done _well_.”

She curled her lips inward to cover up her grin when Jeff turned her around.

“Did I not do it well?” He asked, confusion and apprehension apparent on his face.

Annie merely shrugged, before she couldn’t hide her smile much longer.

“Why you…”

Annie let out a high-pitched squeal as Jeff started tickling her, both of them stopping when they felt the kick from one of the babies. Annie watched as Jeff placed his hand over her stomach where the skin protruded and moved due to the twins.

“Do you ever wonder if…” Jeff paused, and glanced away. Annie knew what he was thinking without him even having to ask, because it was something she’d been struggling with ever since she felt the babies move the first time.

“If both of the babies are kicking or if one can’t because of the spina bifida?” She finished. She waited until Jeff looked up at her and nodded. “All the time. I wonder if all the movement is just from the one baby, or if both of them are doing it, and if both of them can move inside of me…”

“Then they should both be okay when they’re born, right?” Jeff’s voice was tentative. Hopeful.

“I hope so, Jeff. Nothing is wrong with hoping, right?” She asked.

“Right,” Jeff agreed, before he leaned forward and pressed a kiss against her stomach. He gently laid the side of his face against Annie’s belly, wrapping his left arm around Annie’s waist, and resting his hand on the side of her bulge. “Hey kids,” he whispered, and Annie almost couldn’t hear him over the pounding of the shower, but she kept silent, straining to hear.

“I just want you to know that your Mommy and I? We love you both so much. We don’t care if you can walk, if you’re smart, if the world thinks you’re attractive… the only thing that matters to us is that you are our children, and we love you. We can’t wait to meet you.”

Jeff finished and looked up at her. Annie smiled down at him, then leaned down trying to kiss him. She snorted out a laugh when her stomach prevented her from leaning over too much, but Jeff leaned up and met her halfway, and Annie took gentle sips from his mouth.

They might have gone another round, but just as Annie predicted…

“Jeff? Annie? Troy and I used the emergency key you gave us when Annie moved in. You know, for just in case something happened to her? We tried to wait for the two of you to finish your shower, but Troy wanted me to let you know that the cotton candy tasting grapes he ate in the refrigerator were on the verge of going bad and that’s the only reason he ate them all, but that he will replace them.”

Annie gasped. _Troy ate her grapes?!_

Jeff stood up and covered her mouth to prevent her from screaming. “Thanks, Abed. If I were Troy though, I would rush out to get them now, and have them here before Annie gets finished dressing.”

“Will do, Jeff,” Abed said.

Annie glared at Jeff, a look that didn’t dissipate just because Jeff kissed the tip of her nose. “Come on, Preggo. If you dress quickly, I’ll treat you to Denny’s for breakfast using UberEats.”

Annie’s eyes widened and she bounced slightly. “I want strawberry and banana pancakes with the 9-grain nut mix, and bananas and strawberries with whipped cream on the side. Ooh! And hashbrowns, and french toast and…”

*** *** *** ***

Annie pushed up from her seat, and lifted her glass of ginger ale. She waited until everyone was looking her way, Jeff’s hand resting on her hip, as he wrapped his arm around her, and stood next to her. Once the rest of their group was looking their way, Annie smiled.

“Jeff and I just want to thank all of you for helping us move,” she smiled at all of them. She and Jeff had been surprised when Dean Pelton, Chang, and Ian Duncan had all shown up to help as well. The three of them along with the professional movers that Pierce had hired to deliver not only her and Jeff’s things, but the furniture he’d had Shirley and Abed help him pick out for the home, had turned an all day move into five hours. There was lots of unpacking to do still, but Shirley and Britta had helped Annie set up the master bedroom, the nursery, and the kitchen, while Jeff set up his office, and Annie’s study room. Abed and Troy had set up the living room, and the theater room--something that Abed had declared he would be coming over to use _every week_. While Pierce sat in the living room, and directed everyone where things should go. Something that stopped once Annie shouted at him to cut it out. Ian had set up the dining room, Dean Pelton had done an amazingly great job of setting up the kitchen with all of the dishes that Jeff and Annie, as well as the new cookware, bakeware, and dishes that Pierce had insisted they accept. Chang had disappeared at some point, but nothing had blown up, so Annie wasn’t too concerned… yet.

“I know that there’s a lot going on with all of us. And I know everyone wanted to offer their assistance because of the very big changes that Jeff and I are facing.” She smiled up at Jeff as he placed his large palm on her belly. “So, thank you. For being our friends, our family. For your support and encouragement. For your help. We appreciate it, so much.”

Jeff nodded and lifted his glass of Scotch. “Yeah. What she said.”

The group laughed, raised their cups in a toast, before everyone dug into the plate of food in front of them. Annie shared a soft smile with Jeff, and returned to eating.

Hoping that no one noticed the wince of pain that shot across her face.

*** *** *** ***

“Does anyone know how long it takes papier-mache to dry?” Troy asked, as the group worked on their diorama for Anthropology.

“Three hours longer than it took Duncan to think up this assignment,” Jeff teased, glancing up from his phone.

“I think he’s really gonna appreciate the extra work we did expanding our evolutionary chart,” Annie said, clenching her teeth against the sharp pain that wrapped its way around her lower abdomen and lower back.

_I can’t be in labor. It’s too soon. It’s too soon._

“Oh, Britta!” She said, forcing a smile on her face as the pain subsided. “Can you hold up the final stage of humanity?”

“I still think that man is gonna evolve into woman. Not a dragon monster with three legs,” Britta responded, holding up the papier-mache creature the group had crafted.

“Three legs?” Pierce asked in confusion, settled into the wheelchair that he’d been forced into since his _flight_ off the trampoline, thanks to a double bounce he’d insisted on.

Jeff stood up from his seat, narrowing his eyes at Annie.

“Well, it’s been real,” he said. “At least the paste smell has. But Annie and I have a very important date to catch.”

Annie frowned at him. “We do?”

Jeff nodded at her. “Yes. We do. A very, very _important_ one.”

Annie wracked her brain, until she remembered the promise she’d made to Jeff just that morning.

_“If we get to school early to get started on this diorama, I’ll let you f-fuck me on the dining room table.”_

The dining room table, and the kitchen counter were two places (besides the nursery) which Annie had deemed as being “off-limits” for any shenanigans. That she’d deigned to use profanity had let Jeff know how serious she was, and she’d seen the way his jaw clenched and his blue eyes darkened until they were almost black. He’d been so excited that he’d jumped out of bed, passed on his early morning workout, showered, dressed, insisted on making Annie a breakfast of toast, one of her tupperware containers of fresh fruit, and a to-go cup of orange juice, gotten dressed, gathered his books and notebooks, Annie’s backpack, and had everything loaded in the car…

All before Annie had gotten out of the shower.

He’d been tapping his feet and shouting her name the entire thirty-five minutes it took her to get dressed.

Annie wondered if bribing him with sex could get him to apply himself more with his studies.

But, reeling her mind back to the present, as she realized what Jeff was talking about, she nodded and turned to the table, bending over slightly as another bolt of pain gripped her lower half.

“...the local shelter is having a Puppy Parade this afternoon…” Dean Pelton’s came through to her in a fog, and Annie clenched her teeth again.

She went to place her things in her bag, only to discover that, yet again, her purple pen was missing.

“Abed, did you pick up my pen?” She asked. “It’s a purple pen, with a gel grip? It’s one of the _Happy Healthy Pregnancy_ _Pens_ that everyone’s been giving me? This one was one of the ones that Shirley gave me. Not to be confused with the one Jeff gave me that disappeared last week.”

“Nope,” Abed denied. “I’m strictly mechanical pencils these days.”

“More relatable?” Pierce teased from his wheelchair.

“It was… just here,” Annie stated as she searched frantically through her bag and around her seat at the study group’s table, for her pen.

“You okay, Annie? Ice chip? Chocolate? Grapes?” Abed suggested, pulling them out of various spots around him.

Annie frowned, but accepted a grape from Abed. She could feel him watching her carefully, but it wasn’t until everyone decided to leave, none of them offering to help her find her pen, just brushing it off, that Annie let all of the pain she’d been feeling for days, spill out of her mouth.

NNnnnnoooooooOOOOOOoooo!!!!!” She placed her hands on the table and gave into the pain shuddering through her body. She could see the way the rest of the group was staring at her in surprise, but she was in pain. She was upset that her pens kept disappearing, and _dang it_ , she was _probably in labor._

“Annie? It’s a pen,” Jeff said to her.

Annie shook her head. “It’s not a pen, it’s a principle.”

Things devolved from there, until the room had turned to chaos, Shirley’s pregnancy test had been discovered, Abed’s “Period Calendar” of the girls’ menstrual cycles had been found out, and Annie was standing in front of Jeff unbuttoning her purple cardigan over her blue maternity dress. Jeff was angry. Britta was angry. Shirley was angry.

“Hey. Hey guys. Hey guys, stop! You’re being completely illogical. We need to flip the tables, divide by gender, then search each other in our underwear,” Abed pointed out.

Annie pointed at Jeff, “But we see each other naked every day.”

Abed shook his head. “It’s what a Bottle Episode dictates.”

Annie glanced over at Jeff, winced as another pain shot through her, and glanced away as she tried to subtly breathe through what she was now certain were contractions. She stepped out of the way, standing next to Shirley as the guys set up the tables on chairs on opposite sides of the room.

“Oh, An-nie… just think, if I am pregnant, we can be pregnancy buddies for a little while,” Shirley said with a soft smile.

“Yeah,” Annie panted softly as she breathed through the end of the contraction. She marked the time on her watch, as she waited for the next one. “That would be cool.”

Once the tables were set up, the men on one side, the women on the other, they disrobed and stood facing each other suspiciously.

“Now what?” Jeff asked, still watching Annie intently. She looked away guiltily. Not because she had the pen, but because she was fairly certain that she _was_ in labor, and she hadn’t told him. And she’d promised that she would.

“Everybody shake,” Abed ordered. “Enough to dislodge.”

Annie shook with everyone else, then winced when her water broke.

“All right, end of the road. We’ve torn apart the room. We’ve stripped. There is absolutely no place left…” Jeff’s voice trailed off as he stared at the floor.

“Annie… did your water just break?”

She burst into tears. “Yes.” Then she gripped Britta’s hand, and the top of the table and let out a blood curdling scream, as she felt as if her body were being ripped apart.

“I think we should call the ambulance. The babies are killing Annie!” Troy cried, dancing and moving around the floor in fear.

“Calm down,” Shirley said. “An-nie, let’s get you redressed. Jef-frey, you too. Then we’ll get you two into the car and to the hospital.”

“I-I c-can’t…” Jeff shook his head.

Annie panted. “You can’t what, Jeff?” She shook her head and clutched Britta’s hand tighter, ignoring the blonde’s cry of pain. “It’s too late to back out of having children with me now.”

Jeff shook his head as well. “No. Not that. God, Annie, I’d have a thousand babies with you. I just… I can’t drive. Not right now.” He held out his hands and Annie gasped as she saw how much his hands were shaking.

“No one wants you to drive you fool!” Shirley muttered. “Get dressed then get in my van. The rest of you can figure out how to get there on your own.”

“I think I should come with them,” Abed said. “Jeff will need male companionship as he goes through the different and various stages of accepting paternal responsibility.”

Jeff nodded his head in agreement.

“And Annie kind of won’t let go of my hand, so…” Britta pointed out.

“I guess I’m bringing Pierce then?” Troy asked.

Everything figured out, the group quickly redressed, Britta and Shirley helping Annie, before Jeff strode over and swung her up into his arms. She wanted to protest, instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and clung tightly to him.

“I’m scared, Jeff,” she admitted.

He nodded. “So am I. But we can do it, as long as we do it together, and with our chosen family to support us.”

Annie nodded, then she reached out her hand as another contraction gripped her. “Britta!”

*** *** *** ***

“Jeff, as we discussed, we’re going to perform a C-section to minimize the exposure of foreign debris to your child’s exposed spine,” Dr. Amanda stated.

Jeff nodded, holding tightly to Annie’s hand.

“So just follow the nurse and she’ll show you where you can get changed.”

Jeff looked down at Annie and stroked her pale and sweaty cheek. His heart hadn’t stopped thundering in his chest since the moment he suspected that she was in labor and hiding it from him. The entire day had been crazy, but meeting his children at the end of it? It was worth _everything_.

“I’ll be right back,” he promised.

“Okay, don’t take too long,” Annie teased as the doctors and nurses started to prep her for the operation. Jeff pressed a kiss to her forehead before he followed the nurse out.

He sent a text message to the group, letting them know what was going on, then another one to someone he’d been avoiding for a while.

**_Jeffrey: hey mom long time no talk 2_ **

**_Mom: Jeffrey? What’s wrong?_ **

**_Jeffrey: nothing not really um i met sum1_ **

**_Mom: Oh did you? That’s nice son. But why are you telling me so late at night?_ **

**_Jeffrey: shes my_ ** _gold_ **_thread mom_ **

**_Mom: Oh! Oh, dear. Really?_ **

**_Jeffrey: yea and um we r @ denver u hosp having twins rite now_ **

**_Mom: You’re doing WHAT?_ **

**_Jeffrey: yeah her names annie edison if u want 2 come down_ **

**_Mom: Jeffrey, don’t you dare turn off your phone._ **

**_Jeffrey: g2g mom my babies r being born_ **

And for the first time in a long time, Jeff turned off his phone. He looked at the nurse and lifted his chin.

“Let’s get me ready to meet my children.”

*** *** *** ***

The alarming sound of machines beeping and whirling had Jeff looking around in confusion. The doctor had only just started the operation when everything went haywire.

“Is everything okay?” Jeff asked.

Dr. Amanda looked at the machines then hurried over. “One of the babies is in distress. We need to get them both out, now.”

“Jeff?” Annie said his name, her voice full of fear.

Jeff gripped her hand and placed a kiss to the back of it.

“It’s okay. They’ll be okay,” Jeff assured her.

“Promise?” Her big, blue eyes widened as she stared up at him.

Jeff nodded. “I promise.”

He held tightly to her hand, and as he watched the doctor and nurses move around the room, he realized their actions were so in sync, that they moved like they were in a choreographed routine. There was blood everywhere, and it turned Jeff’s stomach, mostly because it belonged to Annie. Dr. Amanda barked out orders to the medical team, and Jeff looked back and forth between the doctor and Annie.

“How are they?” Annie asked. “Are they okay?”

Jeff was about to reassure her again, when the cry of a baby echoed into the room.

“You have a very healthy little girl,” Dr. Amanda said, and Jeff choked out a sob.

“Aww, Jeff. Are you okay?” Annie asked. Jeff was amazed at western medicine, that Annie could be awake, and blissfully unaware as they performed a cesarean on her was amazing. It was a localized anesthetic, and Annie was able to talk and be awake for the entire operation.

He nodded and pressed his forehead against her temple.

“We have a daughter,” he whispered.

“Here comes the next one,” Dr. Amanda stated. “Let’s alert the NICU surgical team in OR 4, so that they’re ready and prepared for this second one.”

Jeff lifted his head and watched with bated breath as…

_There… it was a…_

“It’s a boy,” Dr. Amanda told them. “We’re going to move him immediately into surgery so they can place his spine back where it belongs, but he’s breathing and seems to be fine otherwise.”

“Can I see him?” Annie cried as the nurses placed their daughter on her chest. “Please. Before you take him. Can I see him?”

Dr. Amanda looked at Jeff and he nodded.

_Please let her see him. She needs to. Before anything happens to him. Before we possibly lose him._

A nurse brought over Jeff’s tiny son and placed him on Anne’s chest, a tiny, blue medical sheet resting on top of the plastic covering they’d placed there. Jeff looked at his family. Annie, their daughter, and their son, and he stood up, picked up his phone from where it rested on a tray next to him, the device having been disinfected so he could bring it in, and he snapped numerous pictures of Annie with their twins, until the doctors finally took his son away for surgery, and their daughter was also placed in an NICU incubator.

Jeff kissed Annie’s head, his tears mixing with the ones streaming from her eyes down into her hairline. He was distantly aware of the doctors and nurses cleaning Annie up. Removing the placenta, stitching her back together, but he was focused on one thing, and one thing only.

“Our twins are beautiful. You did such a great job, Annie. Thank you, thank you,” He kissed her forehead. “And they’ll both be okay. I promise.”

And hours later as Jeff sat next to Annie on her hospital bed, and the nurses came to take them to see their children: _Martha Doreen Edison-Winger_ and _Matthew David Edison-Winger_ , he knew that he was right. Even though they were both tiny, and both in incubators. Even though their son had endured surgery soon after birth. Even though Matthew may never walk, and may always have problems, Jeff knew his children would be okay. Because Annie would be an amazing mother, and he would never leave them. 

_Never._

So he was right.

Just like he always was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the Threads world, Martha and Matthew Winger!


	12. Annie Edison: The Perfect Mother and The Truth About Matthew David

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins are home! Which means Annie is stressed, Jeff is... Jeff and Ian...  
> Well, it seems that the Brit has been harboring a grudge for a while...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to post this yesterday but it was my birthday and let's just say I am STILL exhausted!
> 
> So we have returned to the world of Threads! So happy!

**Annie Edison: The Perfect Mother and The Truth About Matthew David**

Annie sat in bed, Martha and Matthew balanced on pillows in front of her as she once again counted their fingers and toes. She knew that they both had all twenty but it had become a bit of an obsession for her ever since the hospital had released Matthew into her care.

“Are they all there?” Jeff asked from the bedroom doorway, amusement evident in his tone.

Annie glanced up at him and stuck out her tongue. She knew it was childish, and as a new mother she needed to behave much more maturely, but there was just something about Jeff. He brought out so many different sides to her, and one of them just happened to be the high school version of her, face riddled with acne, overweight, hair a straggly mass of curls, mouth full of braces, just hoping the cool kids would notice her, and the hottest guy in school would like her. In high school that boy had been Troy, at GCC it was Jeff... the man.

“Jeff?” Annie called out to him as he stepped over to the walk-in closet.

“Yeah?” He called back, his voice muffled in the cavernous room that was jam packed with his and her clothes.

“Does Matthew look okay to you?” She asked worriedly, her hands moving lightly and gently over her newborn son’s body.

Jeff stepped back into the bedroom, a frown tugging his lips down into an expression of worry. “What? What’s wrong with him?” Jeff rushed over and sat next to her, reaching out to touch Matthew as well.

“I d-don’t kn-know. He... he just...” Annie shook her head. “He made this face and—look! He’s doing it again!”

Jeff stared at their son, then shook his head with a soft chuckle.

“Annie, he’s smiling. I mean... according to the baby books it’s probably gas, but really it’s okay. He’s fine. He’s not crying or anything. He’s just happy to be with you and his sister. That’s all,” Jeff explained before he leaned over and placed a gentle kiss to her temple.

Annie frowned and tilted her head to the side. Was she overreacting? Could it just be that Matthew was smiling at her—or had gas, whatever—and she just hadn’t noticed? She wanted to call the doctor... again... but in the three days that both of the twins had been home, Annie had called about twenty times... a day. Taking notes and asking copious questions. She didn’t want to be a pest but... it was her little boy. They were her babies. They’d grown inside of her and one of them had had to have surgery before he was even a week old. Annie was worried she was going to screw everything up. She felt that she had a right to worry.

She was going to have to document this in his Baby Progress Book.

“A-are you sure?” She asked, seeking just a bit more reassurance from Jeff.

“I’m positive. The babies are fine. Matthew is fine. And you are doing a great job as their mother. And that’s the Winger Guarantee.”

Annie rolled her eyes at Jeff’s trademark statement--she was still going to put Matthew’s  _ look _ in his BPB--though her lips twitched with a smile she tried to hold back. She finally looked over at him.  _ Really _ looked at him, and whistled.

“You’re looking pretty good there, Mr. Winger. Where are you going?” She asked with a grin.

Jeff gave her a lustful leer and leaned down to lightly nibble her bare shoulder. “I’m going to the not-so-hallowed halls of Greendale. You get a pass in your classes because of the whole having babies thing. Me? Not so much. I have to be there to take finals and make sure that everyone has a chance to see this gorgeous face as much as possible before we all separate for Christmas break,” Jeff told her before he stood and once again headed into the closet.

Annie felt a wave of sadness and disappointment wash over her. Though she did not regret having her children, and she was thankful that she was able to take her classes from home, it just wasn’t the same as sitting in a classroom, surrounded by her peers, and feeling the thrill of accomplishment when she finished her quiz first, and turned it in first, even after taking the time to look back over her answers to be assured they were right.

Jeff stepped back into the room, fully dressed and leaned over the bed to place a kiss on the tops of each baby’s head.

“See you later my gorgeous children, who got all of their good looks from their mom and me. Who hopefully got her eyes and brains, my charm and wit, and winning smile, and her ambition. I look forward to the day when you will both be President and Vice-President of these United States, before switching and being Vice-President and President,” he said with a grin. It was the same thing he’d been saying to them since the moment he was first able to touch and hold them. It always made Annie laugh, though once it made her cry, as she realized that while Jeff was a cocky sonofabitch, who was too arrogant, cocky, selfish, and lazy by half, he was an exceptionally great father and an amazing partner for her.

_ But not husband _ , that little voice that sounded suspiciously like Shirley’s taunted her internally. That voice had been mocking her and haunting her with more frequency since the moment she’d given birth. There had been something about seeing the babies' names, her name, and Jeff’s name on their identification labels on their newborn cribs, and their birth certificates that had sent a pang through her. Annie would never tell Jeff, of course, but she had begun fantasizing about the two of them being married.

It wasn’t anything for him to be alarmed about, she’d daydreamed about being married to Troy all through high school, and Zac Enron since the first day she’d ever seen him, but with Jeff it was something... more. She wasn’t just picturing their wedding and their wedding night like with Troy and Zac—oh, she thought of them, she wasn’t dead by any stretch of the imagination just because she’d had twins, and Jeff was BEYOND gorgeous—but she’d also dreamt of other things. The actual marriage. Them going on family vacations, walking hand-in-hand through Disneyland, having more children, watching their children graduate, playing with their grandchildren, waking up together, cooking together, cuddled up in front of a fire together...

All the things she imagined families did. Couples did. All the things she’d never seen her own parents do. Things her own family never did.

“—Annie!” Jeff snapped his fingers in front of her face and she blinked and looked up at him, startled out of her inner musings.

“Huh? What?”

Jeff frowned at her. “Are you okay? Do you want me to blow off classes and stay here with you? I mean, it’s not like we have finals just yet, and I just have the one diorama that’s due today and a quiz in Walking Like A Model 102, and let’s be honest, I can pass that class with my eyes closed, and you did my diorama for me two days ago when you got bored. I can stay here and just get Dean Pelton to give me a pass on the quiz. You know he will,” Jeff said with a grimace.

Annie giggled at his expression and shook her head. “No, no. I’m okay. Just... um... planning my day with the kids,” she lied.

Jeff rolled his eyes and muttered beneath his breath something that sounded like, “Of course you were.”

“And besides,” Annie continued, choosing to ignore his sarcastic remarks. “Your mom is here to help and you’ve barely let her. This will be a good time for her to get to hold her grandchildren and for me to get to know her as well.” She leaned towards him mischievously. “And for me to get all the details about your misspent youth, as well as see pictures of you when you were just some skinny, nerdy, geeky kid.”

Jeff gasped and his eyes widened. “I was  _ never _ nerdy or geeky! And I was only skinny because I hadn’t discovered the wonders of working out and eating properly.”

Annie nodded, doing her best to look serious and somber—an effect that was ruined the minute she burst into laughter.

“Oh whatever, Edison!” Jeff grunted. He leaned down and placed a soft, sweet kiss on her lips. “I’ll see you after classes and I’ll bring the gang with me.”

Annie nodded enthusiastically. “I’d like that. Thank you, Jeff.” She took a deep breath and pasted on a smile. “And tell everyone that Martha Doreen, Matthew David, and I say hello!” She waved to emphasize her point.

She wondered at the too pleased expression that came across Jeff’s face, but dismissed it when he agreed, kissed her and their twins one last time, then left, grabbing his phone and books on the way out.

She heard him say goodbye to his mother in the hallway, moments before the woman in question, her dirty blonde hair pulled up into a French twist, wearing an apron over a knee length, pink, cotton dress with lace at the neckline and wrists, blue eyes shining with happiness, carrying a tray filled with breakfast foods, stepped into the room.

“Now that my knuckleheaded son is gone, what say we girls get to know each other better?” Doreen asked a mischievous smile on her face.

Annie clapped and bounced slightly on the bed, and she would swear for years to come that the noises that the twins made were them chattering away in happy agreement.

****. ****. ****. ****

Jeff stepped out of his car in the parking lot of Greendale Community College and rubbed his chest. He had a sharp pain that had started shortly after he’d driven away, and for a moment he’d worried that after years of eating healthy and exercise, after finally finding the woman who was just right for him, made for him, even when he wasn’t looking for her, after finally becoming a father and vowing to be a better one than his own father could have even dreamed of becoming... that he was going to just drop dead. But when he felt the pang again and took a moment to look down, he noticed that his threads had appeared and were vibrating, tugging at his heart and soul. They were getting stronger as he drove further away, and while it didn’t make sense to him logically, the romantic part of him—the pet he kept hidden away from everyone but Annie—knew that the Creators and Crafters of the threads were making sure he knew where his home was. Where his heart lay.

How to get home.

_ I guess absence really does make the heart grow fonder _ , he thought to himself, even as he swaggered into the school nodding and accepting congratulations from everyone on the birth of his children. And if he stopped to show off the myriad of photos that he had on his phone to people like Vicki, Garrett, Neil, and even Dean Pelton, well... could anyone really blame him?

He and Annie made some damn fine kids. And though he was truly looking forward to meeting up with the study group, he had to admit--at least to himself, because he would  _ never _ admit such a thing to  _ anybody else _ , not even Annie--he was a little disappointed when he stepped towards the doorway of Ian’s office and found it empty.

“There you are old chap. Didn’t expect to find you back in the hallowed halls of academia so soon after bringing your children home from hospital,” Ian’s voice rang out from down the hallway, and though Jeff had been looking for him only moments before, he dropped his head and groaned.

“Oh, cheer up old man. I did research—“ Ian’s voice was closer now directly behind him. Jeff took a fortifying breath and turned around. “So, even though Big Tits had a Cesarean, you will still be able to resume blinking her in just a little bit of time. And just think of it, she didn’t have to push any babies out of her clacker so she’ll still be nice and—“ Ian’s eyes widened when Jeff reached forward and wrapped one arm around his head, slapping his free hand over Ian’s mouth.

“If you have any hope of ever seeing your  _ mum _ again, or of eating your precious  _ fish and chips _ , or hell, even discovering if there’s a golden thread out there somewhere for you, you’ll shut your trap about my woman’s  _ clacker _ , never call her Big Tits again, and will stop trying to get information about my sex life with her, from now until the end of your very sad existence. Got it?” Jeff threatened Ian through gritted teeth. Though he and Ian often said things in jest to one another, making lewd and lascivious remarks and gestures about the other’s dates or girlfriends, Jeff was deadly serious. He drew the line at Annie. And it wasn’t just because she was his golden thread. It wasn’t just because she made him want to be a better man. It wasn’t even because everything seemed just a little bit brighter whenever she was around.

It was because he’d stood there and watched as she endured contractions with an iron will and fierce determination, that he wasn’t even aware was possible in someone so young. It was because he’d watched as she embraced their children as best as she could when they were first born, then put the entire medical staff at Denver University Hospital through their paces, making them all study and brush up on their medical knowledge, just so they could give her “acceptable” and “satisfactory” answers to her questions. Jeff was amazed by her. He was in awe of her. And while he was pretty sure there were some people at the hospital who hated Annie, he was beyond grateful for her, because he knew that with her as the mother of his children, they would receive the best care.

She was a goddess and he was a mere mortal who was lucky enough to worship at her feet, and he’d be damned if he let some two-bit British psychologist with a big-dick envy besmirch her name.

Even that man was… the closest thing he had to a best friend.

And how sad was that?

Ian nodded and patted Jeff’s arm. Jeff released him and gave Ian a chance to straighten himself out before holding out his phone, the very reason he’d stopped by the man’s office.

“Want to see pictures of Martha Doreen and Matthew David?”

Ian glanced over at him, a slow smile spreading across his lips. “Matthew David, huh?”

Jeff grinned and nodded.

“You sneaky bastard! Does Big—Annie know that you named your son after Dave?” Ian asked with a hearty chuckle.

Jeff shook his head. “She has no idea. And I have no plans on telling her. Can you imagine? Hey Annie, our son is named after the greatest musician and group ever. A musical genius, whose true fans call Dave, and whom the rest of the world knows as The Dave Matthews Band.” He scoffed. “I don’t think that would go over very well.”

Ian snorted. “No, I don’t think it would.” He scrolled through Jeff’s pictures obligating his duty as a friend to a new parent, before handing back Jeff’s device and patting him on the back. “They’re beautiful children, ol’ chum. When do I get to meet them?”

Jeff nodded. “Today, after my last class. Gonna have the group over at say 5-ish?”

Ian inclined his head. “Then I too shall be there.”

Jeff patted Ian’s shoulder then headed towards Study Room F.

Ian waited until Jeff had turned the corner before pulling out his own phone and dialing a number he never had before.

“Hello, Annie? Hi, yes, this is Professor Ian Duncan, Jeff’s friend? I just wanted to congratulate you on the birth of your babies and say I saw the pictures and they are adorable… yes! Yes. I completely agree. And I also wanted to say how lucky Jeff is to have a partner like you. Most women I know would have been furious that their partners wanted to name their sons after The Dave Matthews Band, just because they were fans, but Jeff tells me you had no problem with it at all… what?!” Ian feigned shock as he strolled into his office and took out the bottle of Scotch he’d pilfered from Jeff’s apartment months before. “You say you had no idea? Oh no. I hope I haven’t gotten the old bloke in trouble… you say you’re fine? Well, I must say Miss Edison, you certainly don’t sound fine. You sound quite upset. Perhaps I should come by to talk with you, and Jeff, help you both navigate through this misunderstanding… oh no worries, Miss—Annie. It would be my pleasure.”

Ian hung up the phone and nodded to himself, before pouring himself a glass of the liquor and taking a healthy swallow.

“That should make up for the experiment you ruined for me last year,” he muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming Up:  
> The group spends time with the twins.  
> Jeff discovers what Ian has done.  
> and...  
> DUNGEONS & DRAGONS!!!!!!!!


	13. Cooperative Conspiracies 101 or The Dinner Party That Led to Revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie and Doreen find out the truth about Matthew David's name and plot...
> 
> and
> 
> The group comes over to Jeff and Annie's "house" for dinner, with two special guests...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long! I posted the last chapter and life smacked me in the face. But I wanted to get something up in time for Thanksgiving. I was going to include Season 2 episodes 9-14, but I needed to give filler and background and context, sooo...  
> Yeah. But the next chapter takes us up to at least S2 Christmas. Then the chapter after takes us up through D&D!!!!

**Cooperative Conspiracies 101 or The Dinner Party That Led to Revenge**

Annie wasn’t mad... exactly. She was simply...

Disappointed.

Yeah. That’s the word. She was disappointed. That after everything she and Jeff had been through, even now, after they’d had the amazing experience of bringing two children into the world, rather than him being upfront with her and telling her that he wanted to name their son after his favorite artist (and really, what was the big DEAL about The stupid David Matthews Band—or was it Dave Matthew Band?—whatever it was) he’d felt the need to lie and manipulate her into it.

_“I’ve always really liked the name Martha for a girl, and I think her middle name should be my mom’s... Doreen. But what will we name him? Our son. Who is already so strong and special and amazing?...... you’re so right, Annie! Matthew is a strong name! And what’s that? David in the Nevi’im was special and amazing? Well, I mean if that’s what you want. Then yes, I think it’s a great idea to name him Matthew David. I don’t know about you, Annie, but that name just seems so... special to me.”_

She scoffed as she remembered the conversation she and Jeff had in the middle of the NICU once it had been safe for Annie to get out of bed in order to see her babies. She’d been emotional and somewhat delirious. That was the only explanation she had for falling for something that was so... obviously a manipulation.

“Stupid handsome hobo, pointy-faced jerk,” she muttered to herself as she finished gently and carefully—and expertly, because... it’s Annie—changing Matthew’s cloth diaper, before redressing her newborn son, who stared at her in wonder, and scooping him up into her arms.

“Oh no... what did my son do now?” Doreen asked, where she stood on the other side of the nursery changing Martha.

Annie swung around in surprise. Doreen had been so quiet that she had pretty much forgotten that the older woman was there. Annie stammered and shook her head, fully prepared and ready to deny everything, when Doreen raised her hand with a chuckle.

“I admire your devotion to my son, Annie,” Doreen said. “But I raised him. And while I was a bit too… overindulgent with my praise of him, his looks, and his accomplishments--no doubt an attempt to make up for the lack of a father figure in his life--over the years I have come to open my eyes to the truth about my son.”

Annie opened and closed her mouth as she resisted the urge to speak up and defend Jeff against his own mother. It was a feeling she was quite familiar with. One which had grown as their threads had lengthened and thickened and grown stronger. Each of them with bits of gold threaded throughout. Annie knew that it didn’t mean she and Jeff were a special couple, she’d done a bit of research on “ **gold** \- _threaded_ couples” and had learned that the closer she and Jeff got, the more in love with each other they fell, not only would their strands get longer, double, and be infused with **gold** threads, but that eventually the **gold** would become like impenetrable glass, surrounding the various other threads. They would have a **purple** thread, intermingled with **gold** , surrounded by a **gold** casing. One of the couples Annie had spoken to told her it was both a good and a bad thing. It was good because it almost _literally_ meant that nothing could come in between them. It meant they would be able to speak to each other on a soul deep, and strong mental level, no words ever needed to be passed between them again. They would both strive to do whatever they could to make sure the other was always happy. But it also meant that their hearts, their souls, their minds, and their spirits were one. And if one of them passed…

The other one did soon after. Usually within two or three months.

 _It gives “can’t live without you” a whole new meaning_ , Annie had said as she realized why the “Broken-Hearted” Syndrome existed.

She yanked her mind back to the present and shoved down the urge she still had to protect and defend Jeff, and returned to “ _actively listening_ ” to Doreen.

“...I mean, did he think that the news of a lawyer being disbarred for faking his degree wouldn’t get back to me? That I wouldn’t know it was him? People at that law firm of his couldn’t keep a secret if their _mothers’_ lives depended on it. Which, if you think about it, makes for horrible lawyering practices…” Doreen shook her head. “But, I digress. What I was trying to get to is that, I know my Jeffrey. I know he screws things up by lying and not being honest and by being selfish… oohh! And that _ego_. But, nevertheless, you should never feel as though you can’t talk to me and vent or get advice just because he came from my womb. I know he’s not perfect, though he has a hard time accepting that fact himself.”

Annie chuckled. Though she wanted to argue, Doreen had pretty much hit the nail on the head when it came to Jeff and his shortcomings. She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and told Doreen… everything.

When she was finished, Annie looked at Doreen nervously, watching as the older woman’s eyes narrowed and she shook her head.

“I told that boy that of everyone in this world, he now had four people he absolutely could not lie, scheme, or manipulate. Me, as his Mama, Martha and Matthew, as his children, and you… as his destiny. His love. Well…” Doreen huffed. She walked out before stepping back in with her cellphone in her hand, Martha still lovingly cradled against her.

Annie opened her mouth to question Doreen, to see if she was calling Jeff to ream him out, but stopped when Doreen held up a finger.

“Hello? Dean Pelton?”

_Dean Pelton? Why is she calling him?_

“This is Doreen Winger, Jeffrey’s mother…” Annie winced when she heard the dean’s effusive and overenthusiastic greeting to Doreen. “Yes, yes, dear. I’m sure you _love_ having Jeffrey at the school, and I’m quite sure that his claims of you sexually harassing him are simply him teasing and not at all to be taken seriously…” Doreen shared a look of exasperation with Annie, and the younger woman covered her mouth to stifle her giggle. “...mmhhmm… Dean Pelton? Dean Pelton? Dean? Dean? Excuse me, dean?... CRAIG!” Doreen shouted into the phone making Annie and the twins all jump slightly.

Annie instantly soothed her children, placing Matthew gently on the pillows arranged for his comfort, in the middle of her and Jeff’s bed, and swiftly, but carefully lifted Martha from Doreen’s arms, placing her newborn daughter down next to her brother. Annie stood watching them for a moment. Though Jeff had called her silly, and Rich-- _Dr. Stephenson_ \--had merely patted her hand as if she were sooo adorable, Annie knew she wasn’t delusional by what she saw in the interactions between her children. Only Doctors Amanda Stacey and Helen Sharpwin believed her, telling her that mothers often sensed things with their children before fathers, only because they carried the babies, and with couples where there was a surrogate used, or adoption, it was the one who spent the most time with them. _“Time and proximity. It’s how best friends pick up on subtle differences in each other, how people get animals to trust them, and how women’s cycles sync.”_ Annie had nodded and accepted their wisdom, as well as their support and encouragement. And she’d bounced slightly when she showed them, and both women _instantly_ noticed.

Martha and Matthew not only tended to face each other when they were lying down, but if Martha was laying next to her brother, her hand would gently touch and hold his back, as if to give him added protection. If Matthew cried, Martha did as well, and vice versa. But no matter what was wrong, if Annie lay them next to each other, or even let them see one another. They would be soothed, instantaneously.

It was a beautiful miracle to Annie. A first time mother. A young woman who wasn’t yet 21 and wouldn’t be for a while. A young woman who lived in, what could only be described as, a mansion, given to her, her partner and soulmate--who was considerably older than her--and their newborn children. One of which had a physical limitation, for which there was no cure.

Annie loved to see her children together. They were so beautiful and so sweet.

And Annie could already tell they were geniuses.

“...why he told me, dear,” Doreen’s voice once again punctured Annie’s happy bubble and she returned her focus to the other woman’s side of the conversation. “Why, yes he did. He was assuring me that he would have time to help Annie with the twins you see. I’d asked him because I was concerned and wanted to know if the kids needed me to move in for a while to help with the twins…” Annie’s eyes widened. She didn’t know _anything_ about Doreen offering to move in and help. She began nodding her head furiously, waving her arms as best as she could to answer in the affirmative to Doreen. Jeff’s mother chuckled softly and nodded her head as well. “...And Annie agrees with you that I should. So I will, but this still does not solve the problem of Jeffrey faking a class on Conspiracies, so that he could get the credit, but not have to do the work.”

Annie’s smile dropped off her face almost instantly and she narrowed her eyes.

_Wait… what?_

She gestured at Doreen for the phone, then lifted the device to her ear.

“Dean? Annie Edison here. I’m coming back to Greendale earlier than I intended. You and I need to teach that man of mine a lesson…”

*** *** *** ***

_Later That Day_

Jeff knew something was wrong the moment he stepped in the door. Since the moment he and Annie had moved into their new home, there had been nothing but noise greeting him every time he stepped in the door. Especially since the twins had come home. Whether it was Annie playing music, their “smart house” announcing their entrance, the twins babbling, or crying, or giggling with excitement, Jeff always knew that when he came home there was a family waiting for him.

But that day… that day there was nothing.

“Hello?” He called out. “Annie? Mom?” He rolled his eyes, but called out anyway. “Martha? Matthew?” Ugh. His kids needed nicknames, and _soon_. He didn’t care what Annie said, people needed nicknames.

_Hmmm… Matty and Marty? No. I am not calling my daughter Marti. Maybe Mara? I think I can get Annie on bored with Mara. And maybe even instead of Matty… Dave?_

Jeff winced as he thought once again about how he’d tricked Annie into naming their son after one of the most amazing artists in the world. He knew he needed to tell her. He would be the biggest jerk ever if he didn’t, but…

Jeff was actually a little afraid of the petite brunette with the banging body, otherworldly intelligence, and the Disney eyes who had stolen his heart. Jeff remembered Annie’s reaction to the loss of her precious purple pen. Hell, the entire group had seen it. And none of them would ever forget it. Jeff would hate to see how she reacted to him manipulating her regarding the name of their little boy.

 _That’s not something you need to worry about right now,_ he told himself as he hung up his coat in the hall closet, still looking around the dark and empty house for his family. The kitchen was empty, so was the formal living room, and the family/play room. Jeff frowned as he looked around the empty home, continuing on down the hallway. An unfamiliar and altogether, unpleasant feeling sank in his belly, and once he reached the nursery his hands were shaking.

_What had happened to his family? Where were they?_

The nursery was dark, the cribs empty, and now the mild shaking of Jeff’s hands, spread to encapsulate his entire body. He placed his hands on the wall as he almost sank to the floor, heading through the connecting door into the bedroom he shared with Annie.

_Nothing._

_No one was there._

Jeff’s lungs felt as if they were being squeezed in a vise. His skin was hot and growing tighter around his bones. He felt the exact same way he’d felt when, at six years old, his father--drunk on booze, and high on what Jeff now knew was methamphetamine--left him at the zoo.

It was also the way he’d felt when his mother picked him up from school and told him that his father had left them… for good. Except this time, it was worse. This wasn’t being abandoned by a man who used to abuse him and his mother. This was being abandoned by the woman he was supposedly destined to be with. Destined to love.

Who the fuck was he kidding? The woman he loved with his whole heart and soul.

She’d left him, and had taken his children with her.

“Jeff?” Annie’s voice sounded so close to him, and for a moment he worried that he was hallucinating. That is, until she touched his shoulder. Jeff jumped and turned. Annie stepped back, Matthew clinging to her shirt, from where he rested in his modified _Baby Bjorn_.

“Oh my gosh! Jeff! Are you okay?” Annie gasped as she crouched down in front of him, her hands cradling his cheeks. Jeff didn’t even realize he’d been crying until he felt her wiping the tears away from her face.

“I-I th-thought,” he swallowed another sob, and glanced up with relief and gratitude when his mother stepped up behind Annie, Martha in a front-face baby carrier, her tiny hands reaching out for her daddy’s face. He looked back at Annie and wrapped his hands around her wrists.

“I thought you’d left me,” he confessed, closing his eyes for a moment when Annie gasped.

“What?! Jeff, no! I would never do that to our kids. Neither of us grew up with a father, why would I allow our children to experience the same? And besides that, I would never do that to myself… or to _you_ .” She shook his face, and smiled sadly at him. “I love you, _dummy_.”

Jeff chuckled. “I love you too.”

Doreen cleared her throat loudly, causing Jeff to laugh again. “I love you too, Mom.”

“No, honey. I meant that for Annie,” Doreen said.

Annie glanced up at his mother, then back at him.

“If you love me, Jeff, then why didn’t you tell me the truth about Matty’s name?”

Jeff swallowed thickly this time, but for a totally different reason than before.

*** *** *** ***

Jeff had just finished making it up to Annie (and his mother, who had wanted Jeff to name his son after her brother, Andrew), by the time they heard the doorbell signaling that their friends had arrived. The study group, Dean Pelton, and Ian.

_The traitorous bastard._

Jeff growled low in his throat, and only stopped when he felt the press of slender, soft, and moisturized fingers on his forearm. He looked down and found Annie looking up at him.

“Hey, it’s okay. I told you that I forgive you, and that Ian will get his. And soon. And you may not know this yet, but just know that I know quite well how to get revenge.” Annie winked at him and Jeff felt as if there were cold fingers tracing down his spine. He actually felt as though Annie’s words were not just to comfort him, but also to threaten him. But that was ridiculous, why would Annie want to threaten him? She already knew about the name thing. And he couldn’t think of anything else he’d done to warrant her needing to get revenge on him for…

Jeff was jerked out of his inner musings by the sound of someone pressing the doorbell repeatedly. The noise was startling to the twins, no one had really visited since the twins had been released from the hospital except his mother, and she’d known to knock first. Martha let out a wail, which, of course, prompted Matthew to follow with his own sound of distress. Annie hushed and soothed Matthew who tried to bury his face in her chest, while Jeff did the same for Martha as he headed towards the front door. He yanked open the front door with a curse on his lips, which died as soon as he saw the rest of the Study Group--his and Annie’s _chosen_ family--arguing amongst themselves.

“You don’t ring the doorbell of a house with newborns, Troy!” Shirley hissed.

“Why? It’s not like they can get the door anyway!” Troy returned, his face holding an expression of confusion and anger, the likes of which, only he could pull off.

“Because babies are like puppies, Troy. According to my research, they don’t like loud noises, vacuum cleaners, they are usually averse to baths the first few times until they get used to it, unless the water is the right temperature. They also get extremely excited when they see their “owners” or “parents” as is the case with babies. And always want to be around them, for fear that they will disappear and never return,” Abed answered, his voice void of all emotion, very monotone, as it always was.

“Guys,” Jeff tried to interrupt, only to be ignored. He looked down at Annie as she came up alongside him. He gave her a small smile and shrugged.

“But if the twins are with Jeff and Annie, then they would be calm, right? So why would my ringing the doorbell make them cry?” Troy asked with a frown.

“Guys,” Jeff tried again.

“Because, Troy, while the babies will be at peace with their parents, you ringing the doorbell will still startle them and cause them distress,” Britta responded.

“You know, when I bought this house for them, I should have installed one of those ringtones with the quiet doorbells,” Pierce remarked smugly.

Jeff rolled his eyes.

“ _Guys!_ ” Jeff tried again, a little bit louder, but putting a gentle, comforting palm on the back of his daughter’s back, muttering to her softly about how pretty and smart she was and how much he loved her. He glanced up and found Annie’s gaze trained on him, and felt their **silver, purple,** and **gold** threads thrumming.

 _Annie finds me being a good father a turn-on?_ He grinned wolfishly at her. _Good to know._

He opened his mouth to call out to the group again…

“Quiet!” Though Annie didn’t scream, as she had during the “purple pen fiasco”, and barely even raised her voice, everyone shut up and turned to face her, their eyes wide. Even Jeff’s.

“Whoa,” he breathed. “How’d you do that?”

Annie shrugged. “Mom voice.” She giggled when Jeff continued to look at her in confusion. “Your mom taught me how to do it.” At the clearing of Shirley’s throat, Annie’s face flushed pink. “And Shirley, of course.” Shirley merely nodded in acknowledgment. “Now, would you all like to come in? Maybe have some dinner? Meet the twins and Doreen, Jeff’s mother?”

“Ooohhh, Jeff’s mom is here?” Britta asked, a little too excitedly for Jeff’s peace of mind. “I see an opportunity full of therapeutic conversations.”

Jeff frowned at the blonde. “Britta, you’re not going to talk to my mom.”

“Sure, Jeff, I’m just going to let the chance to therapize you and your mom go.” Britta rolled her eyes.

“Ugh, Brit--” Jeff began, only to stop when Ian and Dean Pelton walked up behind the group.

“Good afterDean!” Dean Pelton said with a wide smile as he tried to look past everyone into the house. “Why, Jeff, if I hadn’t ran into Professor Duncan here, I might have never found your home. It seems that you gave me your _old_ address.” He blinked at Jeff repeatedly.

Jeff groaned beneath his breath.

“Oh, Dean Pelton! So happy that you and Professor Duncan could come,” Annie greeted. She stepped away from the open doorway, tugging Jeff back with her. He stepped close to her, placing his free hand on her shoulder and tugging her close to his side. Jeff Winger wasn’t the kind of guy who did a lot of self-introspection, but even he could admit that he’d just taken a stance of possessiveness and protection for the dean, as well as one of smugness for Ian. He nodded at both men as they passed him, before closing the door behind them.

“Now that we’re here, gimme one of those babies!” Shirley cooed, coming over to Jeff and lifting his daughter from his arms easily, before she cooed and carried her off towards the family room. Jeff made a slight noise of protest, before Annie turned to him and gently placed Matthew in his arms. She lifted up onto her toes and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

“You just don’t look right without a baby in your arms anymore,” she told him with a cheeky grin, before walking off to play hostess.

Jeff watched her go, a warm feeling moving through him, before he made a move to follow her. He smiled when his mother glided into the room, wearing a dress that looked as if it came straight from a “Leave It To Beaver” episode. Jeff frowned for a moment, before he recognized the outfit, especially the frilly white apron with pink hand-stitching on the front that boasted: My Greatest Dish Is My Son, Jeffrey.

“Aww,” Shirley and Annie both cooed in unison, the two of them placing platters of appetizers on the table(one of chips and candy, that went directly in front of Troy and Abed, one of vegetables, with a homemade dip made by Annie, that Annie set right in front of Britta who sat in between Troy and Abed, with a wink. And another platter that had sausage rolls and Yorkshire pudding, which Shirley was carrying-and that Jeff knew for sure that his mother had cooked, due to the use of pork-that she placed directly in front of Ian and the dean).

His mother preened at the praise and admiration, before rushing over to Annie and taking her arm.

“Now, Annie! You know you are not completely healed. You need to be sitting down,” she admonished before sending a narrow-eyed glare in Jeff’s direction. “Jeffrey! Hand my grandson to his mother and you come help me and… I’m sorry, dear, what’s your name?” She asked, looking right at Shirley. Shirley preened herself, and stepped out with her hand outstretched.

“Shirley Bennett.”

Doreen nodded. “It’s very nice to meet you, Shirley.” She looked back at the rest of the group. “And I am sure I will meet the rest of Jeffrey and Annie’s new family over the course of the night. But right now…” She snapped her fingers at Jeff, and he suddenly felt as if he were back in grade school, helping his mother in the kitchen, after his father had left them, but before the divorce had been finalized. He jumped slightly, ignoring Troy and Abed who laughed and teased him.

“Coming, Mom,” Jeff called out to her retreating form. Once Matthew was settled in Annie’s arms, and Martha was being admired and tickled by Troy and Abed--and Britta, though Jeff was sure she would deny it--he headed to the kitchen, to take up the unfamiliar mantle of host.

*** *** *** ***

Once the group had enjoyed the appetizers and sat at the dining room table to enjoy dinner, they all returned to the family room for dessert and drinks. Jeff found himself seated between the three most important women in his life: Annie, who was now holding Martha and smiling at Jeff as he held up the nursing blanket so she could feed Martha, another important woman—or girl, in his daughter’s case—in his life, and his mother who was holding an already fed Matthew, gently rocking and crooning some Etta Fitzgerald as his son stared up at her with wonder.

“Dinner and a peep show, really nice, Winger,” Ian said with a leer in Annie’s direction. The Englishman held up his hands in a gesture of surrender when every woman, Jeff, Pierce, and Troy reprimanded him for his uncouth and “disgusting” statement. Abed simply watched them all, expressionless, as Dean Pelton walked around trailing his fingers over the framed photographs.

“So, Jeffrey, you’re really happy with the whole children and Annie thing, huh?” Dean Pelton asked as he stared at a photo that his mother had taken of Jeff, Annie, and the twins in bed together. Jeff holding Martha, and Annie holding Matthew, the two babies holding hands, as Jeff leaned over and kissed Annie’s temple.

“Yes, dean, I am,” Jeff answered with a roll of his eyes, nodding back at Annie when she’d finished feeding Martha and had adjusted her clothing until she was once again presentable. Jeff folded the blanket neatly and set it aside before swooping Martha into his arms so he could burp her. While he and Annie had only been parents to the newborn twins for a short amount of time, they already had a pretty smooth routine down, thanks to his mother staying with them.

 _I wonder if she would consider moving in for a while?_ Jeff wondered to himself, as he praised Martha for her burp.

“Hmm... I guess the whole thread thing is something to take into consideration...” Dean Pelton mused to himself.

Jeff shared a look with Annie before looking back at the Dean and regarding him with a determined stare. “Even if Annie and I weren’t threaded, weren’t gold-threaded soulmates, I am sure that in some other dimension, some other universe, we would still be together,” Jeff said with a nod.

“Just maybe not quite so serious, so soon,” Annie interjected with a small chuckle. Jeff shared her humor, as did most of those in attendance.

“It does make you wonder, however,” Abed began. “Just how many other timelines and dimensions there are out there, and if we all meet each other in each one, have some type of relationship or friendship in each one, would our pairings be the same? Would Troy still end up with Britta, or is that merely convenient for the writers of this show and their intended audience, as a plot device that removes Britta from contention as a suitable, and plausible love interest for Jeff, because they see more of a connection with Jeff and Annie? Or would Troy and Britta date and break up, just as a means of inciting jealousy within Jeff, so that he would declare his feelings for Britta, and Troy and Annie are the ones who would end up together?” Abed tilted his head to the side. “So many theories and pairings. So many possibilities. Like, what if we were werewolves? Or our group lived in a different era? What if we didn’t meet at Greendale and never knew the dean, I mean his purpose is for comedic purposes and to annoy Jeff to no end.”

Jeff nodded, agreeing with that bit of Abed’s musings. The Dean did annoy him.

Abed turned to Annie. “Do you have any paper and a functional pen I can borrow? I would love to write down some of my speculations so that I don’t forget them. I don’t feel as though our story has ended, but...” he gestured around. “Where else could we reasonably go from here? Jeff and Annie are paired up and have two babies, though I guess the next bit of conflict they could have would be whether they should get married and when, if they should have more children, will Jeff return to being a full-time lawyer once he graduates, Jeff’s jealousy regarding any other men in Annie’s life besides him, them balancing home, work, school, parent, and couple life. Hmm... well, I guess there is more story to tell,” Abed said with a nod.

“Hey! What about Troy and me?” Britta asked with a glare.

Abed turned to look at Britta and Troy, as did everyone else. “Well, I think that while you and Troy are **gold** \- _threaded_ you’re not exactly friends to the degree that Jeff and Annie are. You are still too skeptical and dark, still too scared of fully committing to Troy, and while Troy wants to commit to you, he is still young, and wants to have fun. But he was raised to respect the threads so if you asked he would marry you tomorrow, but would regret it by the time the reception was in full swing,” Abed admitted truthfully.

“Wow, Ay-bed,” Pierce shook his head. “I thought it was just a problem because Britta is... y’know, and Troy is...” Pierce shrugged.

“What? Because I’m white and Troy is black?” Britta asked angrily, jumping to her feet, fully prepared to go on a rant about racism and interracial relationships. Everyone groaned, even his mother, and Jeff looked at her with a proud smile.

“I’m sorry, Jeffrey. I know that girl is a friend of yours and Annie’s, but she is probably the worst dinner guest I have ever come in contact with,” his mother whispered to him.

Jeff let out a chuckle and wrapped his mom in a hug. “I love you, Mom.”

“Awww,” Annie and Shirley cooed. Jeff rolled his eyes and sat back, before lifting Matthew out of his mother’s arms, and settling the tiny boy in his own. He noticed the evil gleam that appeared in Ian’s eyes and braced himself for the other man’s mischievous words.

“No, Brittles. It’s because you’re a lesbian and Troy is a man, not a woman. And he’s probably more interested in a girl named Shaniqua or Foxy Brown or something,” Pierce denied Britta’s words with his own “special” brand of racism.

“Pierce!” Annie exclaimed in an admonishing and disappointing gasp.

Pierce looked at Annie and shrugged. “What’d I say?”

Ian cleared his throat and everyone looked at him. “So, Annie. I really haven’t gotten a chance to admire your... beautiful offspring. What are their names again?”

Always proud to talk about her children with Jeff, Annie squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “Martha Doreen Winger, and Matthew David Winger,” she said with a wide grin.

Everyone smiled and nodded, talking to each other about how beautiful the babies were.

Jeff smiled tightly, watching Ian carefully. Ian nodded and hummed as if in thought. He snapped his fingers after a moment.

“Matthew David? Like Dave Matthews but flipped! Ahh I see.” He nodded and winked at Jeff. “I knew you were a fan of Dave, Winger, but to name your son after him? Wow.”

And, as if he were proud of the grenade he’d just lobbed, Ian sat back and crossed his arms across his chest.

The rest of the Study Group murmured to each other, because they’d all been privy to the story of how the twins got their names... or at least the version Annie had been led to believe. Before too long they all turned to look at him with disappointment, and Jeff had to swallow the bile that rose in his throat at the reality that he cared what his friends thought about him, but he settled when he felt one of Annie’s hands settle on top of his.

“Oh, Jeffrey,” Shirley said sadly.

“Yes, Professor Duncan. I am aware of the similarities between my son’s name and that of the band you and Jeff both so revere. He and I discussed it, and he apologized. Fiercely. And I accepted. This all happened before any of you arrived.” Annie tilted her head to the side, a move very reminiscent of one that Abed made often. “But why would you bring this up again, in front of everyone, when you’d already called me earlier today to relay this information?” Annie asked.

And just like that, everyone turned to look at Ian. No longer were they disappointed in Jeff, they were now all upset with Ian.

“No doubt to create drama,” Abed shook his head. “Plots where one character tries to cause drama in the relationship of two other characters are never successful for the instigator, Professor Duncan, especially not when the couple is a fan favorite like Jeff and Annie are. You need to be more like me and quietly observe the drama that occurs naturally, and only remark on it in order to move the plot forward.”

Jeff looked at Abed and rolled his eyes again. “Abed, how many times do I have to tell you? We’re not in a tv show?”

Abed looked at him and shrugged. “Try once more.”

Jeff shared a look of confusion with Troy, Britta, Shirley, and Annie, before looking back at Abed. “Abed, we’re not in a tv show.”

Abed nodded and sighed, leaning back in his chair and adopting a look of boredom on his face. It was an expression. An actual expression. And it was so alarming that everyone, even Jeff’s mother who had only met Abed that evening, gasped.

“Well thank the Lord, Jeffrey!” Shirley exclaimed with a clap. “I think you fixed him!”

Ian had pulled out a tiny notebook and began to furiously take notes. Jeff continued to watch Abed, and after about another minute, the younger man sat up straight, his face returning to “normal”, blank and expressionless, and he shrugged in Jeff’s direction. “Sorry, Jeff. I guess it didn’t take.”

Jeff snorted out a laugh, and was joined by everyone except Ian and Pierce—who probably hadn’t understood what was going on in the first place.

“It’s okay, Abed. Having you be “normal” was a little too weird for all of us I think,” Jeff said with another chuckle.

*** *** *** ***

Ten minutes later, everyone was preparing to leave. Doreen had extended an invitation to Thanksgiving dinner to the group, even the dean and Ian, though she hadn’t exactly checked with Annie and Jeff first, and after promising Britta that she would make sure to include some vegan dishes, everyone had agreed. All except the dean and Ian.

 _Thank HaShem_ , Annie prayed mentally.

She waved goodbye to her friends and after closing and locking the door, she headed to the nursery where Jeff and his mother had gone to put the sleeping twins to bed. Hearing them talking, Annie’s footsteps slowed.

“Well do you ever plan to ask her?” Doreen asked.

“Mom!” Jeff whined.

“What? A mother has a right to ask and even more right to know if her almost 40-year old son ever plans to settle down with the young almost 20-year old woman he has two children with. The woman he’s gold-threaded to.”

Jeff sighed, and Annie strained to hear his response.

“I would love nothing more than to put a ring on Annie’s finger and to declare to all the world that she is mine. That the gorgeous, unbelievably smart, brave, fierce, talented, strong, amazing... slightly crazy, and strange woman, was not only the mother of my children, not only my **gold** - _thread_ , but also, my wife,” Jeff admitted.

Annie pressed her hands against her lips to stifle the squeals that she wanted to let out.

“Then why don’t you propose to her?” Doreen asked.

“You already answered your own question, Mom. I’m almost... 4... 40,” Jeff responded sounding as if he were choking on the number. “And Annie? She’s not even 20 yet. I don’t want to be selfish and prevent her from living her life. From seeing the world. From changing it for the better like I know she will, and yet...”

“What is it Jeffrey?”

_Yeah, what is it?_

“I’m way too selfish to let her go. It’s why I was happy she chose to keep my babies, because it ties her to me... forever.”

Annie’s eyes widened at Jeff’s confession.

“Oh, honey. Your threads do that too,” Doreen pointed out.

“Only if we both acknowledge and set out to be tied and bound together. At first, I was too scared. So I ignored our threads. Dated someone else. Hell, Annie did too. But now... Mom, I feel like my heart would stop beating if I let her go.”

Annie shook her head, her hands still over her mouth, as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Oh, Jeffrey. It means you love her. It means she’s it for you. It means... she’s your soulmate. So, you have her. Now what are you going to do about it?”

Annie turned away and headed to the kitchen to make sure everything was cleaned and put away, then she headed to the hallway bathroom to throw water on her face, before she finally returned to the nursery, making sure Jeff and Doreen heard her coming.

_Looks like Abed was right... there was a lot more story to tell._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did Annie's threat mean for Jeff?  
> And how funny was Abed? He totally has a sense of humor on the show, it's just delivered in a monotone voice.
> 
> Hope everyone has a great Thursday/Day Of Mourning/Day Of Gratitude!


	14. The Archaeological Study of Family Holidays 101  & The Dynamics of Not Pissing Off Your Girlfriend, Named Annie Edison

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie and Doreen get their revenge on Jeff and an unsuspecting Ian Duncan, for the whole "Matthew David"/"Dave Matthews" kerfuffle.  
> Abed sees Christmas a little bit differently than everyone else.  
> Shirley and Jeff have a secret.  
> And the group spends the holidays at the home of the Edison-Wingers, where they all become aware of the unexpected gift Annie receives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo.... this is like 3 weeks AFTER Christmas, I know!!! But new job, preparing for a big move, etc. and yeah.... I have learned to not promise dates and times now, not with my schedule going topsy-turvy, but just know that I am continuing all of my stories, and will write them until they're done. Just not on the schedule I had before, unfortunately.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who is still reading this. Everyone who left a comment. Everyone who left kudos. I appreciate all of you, so much!

**The Archaeological Study of Family Holidays 101**

**& The Dynamics of Not Pissing Off Your Girlfriend, Named Annie Edison**

Annie moaned as she felt Jeff kiss her cheek, then her nose, and her forehead. An unintended smile spread across her lips, and she was just about to open her eyes when she felt more lips on her face. She frowned. Who else was…

The sound of her babies giggling had Annie grinning widely, and she opened her eyes to find herself looking up into the big, wide blue eyes of Martha and Matthew. Her heart turned over at the sight of them, and she gasped as she felt the  **red** and  **white** threads between her and her children growing thicker and stronger. She had to swallow back the tears that threatened to spill over as she sat up in the bed fully, taking Martha from Jeff, and watching how gentle and loving he was with their son. Annie nuzzled Martha’s neck, as Jeff placed a hand on Matthew’s chest, before reaching over into his nightstand and pulling out an unopened cleaning kit to take care of Matthew’s catheterization. Once he was done with that, Jeff continued cleaning Matthew, their son not moving much, a wide grin on his face, and his eyes wide and following his father’s every movement.

As if aware of the important and delicate task being done on her brother, Martha grew still in Annie’s arms, though she did reach out to the other infant in a gesture of comfort. Annie placed her daughter next to her twin, and watched as Martha took Matthew’s hand with her own. Jeff, having finished cleaning and redressing Matthew in the outfit Annie had chosen for him, a pair of soft grey cotton pants, and a light purple onesie that matched Martha’s own soft, grey cotton pants, and darker purple onesie, watched the twins along with Annie, the two parents marveling at the bond between the two.

Annie’s skin prickled, and she looked up at Jeff, quirking an eyebrow at him.

“Jeff?” She called his name softly.

“I love you, Annie,” he said somberly, his tone sincere, and his face relaxed into an expression of awe and wonder.

Annie felt as if she were melting inside, and she was sure her face displayed the same. She smiled and sniffled back the tears that threatened.

“Aww, Jeff,” she whispered. “I love you too.”

For a moment, just a brief second, she considered changing the plans put into place by Doreen and Dean Pelton in order to teach Jeff a lesson, but then…

“Don’t forget it’s Wednesday,” Jeff said as he stacked pillows around the twins to keep them safe. “I have my independent conspiracy class this evening with the professor.”

And like a bucket of ice-cold reality being dumped on her head, Annie was startled out of her loving ruminations. Jeff was still up to his old tricks, his same old lazy machinations. He needed to be taught a lesson, and Annie was just the woman to do so.

“Oh, yes, of course,” she nodded. “Well, your mother agreed to watch the twins while we’re at Greendale, and I have that Diorama event this evening, so I’ll just make sure that she knows that we’re both going to be a little late.”

Jeff stepped out of the walk-in closet, with his clothes for the day and hung them up on the armoire next to Annie’s. He studied her for a moment. “Are you sure my mom’s going to be okay with both of the babies?” He asked, a look of fatherly concern on his face.

Annie nodded. “Oh, yeah, of course. Besides...” She placed a kiss on both of her babies’ foreheads, smiling when they both giggled and touched her face. “I’m taking my car so I can come home during lunch and breastfeed them, if it’s a problem for her, then I’m sure we can work something out. Maybe have her bring them to the school daycare so we can both check up on them during the day.”

She headed towards the bedroom door, intent on asking Doreen to watch the twins right then so that she and Jeff could get ready for school.

“Are you sure you want to come back now?” Jeff asked hesitantly.

Annie turned to look at him, her eyebrows lowering as she frowned. “What?”

Jeff shrugged and sighed. “It’s just that… maybe you should stay home a little longer, continue taking your classes and stuff online. Just so that you can rest and be here for the twins…”

Annie wanted to rip Jeff a new one, she was on the valedictorian track and there was no way she would allow having babies or being in a committed,  **gold** -threaded relationship to deter her from her educational goal. But when she saw the genuine worry tugging at Jeff’s face, she sighed and walked up to him. The fact that he wasn’t concerning himself with “worry-lines” being etched on his face from his expression let her know how important this was for him.

“Jeff, it’s going to be fine.” She reassured him. “Your mom has both of our numbers, and the numbers for everyone in the group, Greendale’s phone number, and Dean Pelton even gave her his office and cell number…”

“What about fire and rescue? And Poison Control? What about the number for the doctor?” Jeff peppered her with questions. Before Annie could answer, however, there was a knock at the door.

Annie went to open it, glad that neither she nor Jeff was naked, and when she tugged open the door she smiled at the sight of Doreen standing there, her arms folded across her chest.

“Jeffrey Tobias Winger,” Doreen began. “I raised you on my own. And while I told you that you were an angel and a delight to mother, the truth is, you were a bit of a handful. Annie gave me all the numbers. She also posted them on the refrigerator they’re on the wall in the nursery, in my bathroom, in the hallway bathroom of the first floor, and next to the front door.” She smiled fondly at Annie. “You married--oops, sorry--you are  _ threaded _ to a very organized, thorough, and competent young woman.”

The room was silent after hearing Doreen’s “mistake”, but Annie shook it off after glancing over at Jeff’s tense frame for the third time. She’d overheard Jeff’s conversation with his mother the night before, and while the Annie from a year ago would have been freaked out by his silence, would have fretted that it meant he didn’t want a forever with her, that Annie no longer existed (okay, she still did but not to the same degree). That Annie had been pregnant, endured the mental, emotional, and physical trauma of giving birth to twins, one of which was disabled, and had gotten committed to the only person with whom she had various threads with:  **black** ,  **silver** ,  **purple** ,  **green** , and  **gold** . The threads gave her a bit of security that she might not have had otherwise. So she squared her shoulders and offered Doreen another smile.

“Thank you so much, Doreen,” she stated. “I’m going to go shower and get ready for class.” And so she did, distinctly aware of the way Jeff’s eyes followed her every move.

And when they both left to head to school an hour later, both Jeff and Annie tearing up at leaving their babies behind for the entire day, that feeling stayed with her.

Even when she sent a text to Dean Pelton to make sure he knew that they were still on for the  _ plan _ .

*** *** *** ***

_ Later on That Same Day at Greendale Community College _

_ Dean Pelton’s Office _

The printer echoed loudly in the quiet office of the Dean of Students, he stared at the printout, and groaned. Doreen Fitzgerald had been right, her son was in fact “taking” a course that did not exist.

_ Professor Professorson? Couldn’t you have been a little more inventive, Jeffrey? _

His heart twinged in his chest as the  **silver** and  **black** threads that began from his soul but faded away to nothing when it came to Jeff, vibrated and grew just a little more frayed. Craig had heard of unrequited love, but unrequited friendship? He shook his head, then lifted his chin to stare at nothing.

“Agnes, cancel my appointments,” he called out to his “assistant/receptionist/secretary.”

“What appointments?” Agnes replied, and another slice of disappointment ripped its way through Craig.

“Wishful thinking,” he returned, as the phone rang on Agnes’s desk.

*** *** *** ***

_ And in Study Room F _

Annie stood in front of the group, her “Alternative Energy:  _ Something _ ” diorama, which Jeff had been forced to carry out to her car, from where she’d been working on it in the formal dining room, and then into the study room, as she explained the display to the group. He allowed his eyes to roam over her form, Her black and grey patterned, sleeveless dress, which hugged her postpartum form (though she was almost as slender as she’d been their freshman year, Jeff knew that Annie was still a bit subconscious about her body), and the yellow cardigan she wore over it, gave her a sort of “seductive librarian” appearance, especially with her black tights, black ballet flats, and her dark hair resting just below her shoulders. She was so damn  _ hot _ .

_ Fuck, I need to get laid _ , he thought to himself as he focused back on Annie.

“It’s called, “Alternative Energy: The Key To A Brighter Tomorrow”,” Annie introduced as she put a key into the ignition of the steering wheel dashboard of her diorama, and turned it. She operated the steering wheel as the little red car (which Annie had decided to use, rather than to give to baby Matthew, Troy was a nice guy, but he clearly did not understand what appropriate gifts were for newborns and infants) moved along the track, passing by a desolate wasteland, with bloodied skeletons, dolls, a burned and dirty house, and destroyed toys that represented a barren and depressing world, towards the side of her diorama where there was the other half of the house, beautifully decorated and intact, healthy cows eating green grass, butterflies, a son, healthy trees, flowers, children playing, and a rainbow.

“Notice all the animals wearing sunglasses?” Annie asked, and though Jeff had been aware of her spending any free time that she wasn’t with him or the twins, working on her diorama, this was the first time he’d really noticed the tiny sunglasses on the animals.

_ I hope she’s not planning on bringing that back home. Our kids would be traumatized. _

“Because it’s a brighter tomorrow?” Abed asked, pointing at the impressive and…  _ detailed _ display.

His mother wasn’t wrong, Jeff’s Annie was  _ thorough _ .

“Yeah,” Annie said with a happy nod at Abed, who immediately started clapping.

“My boys are in elementary school, and they don’t make nearly as many dioramas as we do,” Shirley stated, her hands folded atop the study group’s table, the purple sweater she wore over her black shirt, a perfect complement to her medium brown skin tone, giving her a very attractive appearance. She even had a bit of a glow to her. It was almost reminiscent of Annie a few months back, and for a second Jeff’s mind niggled at him, telling him that there was something he was forgetting, but he pushed it aside, deciding to focus on the here and now.

Jeff was  **gold** - _ threaded _ , he wasn’t  _ blind _ .

“The whole Environmental Club is making them for Green Week,” Annie informed the group, still standing in front of her diorama. “And this afternoon, in the cafeteria, we’re having a Bio-Diorama-Rama.” She grinned. Her eyes widened slightly and Jeff shifted in his seat, Annie’s Disney-eyes causing a stir in his groin. “I heard one kid made a diorama about a world without dioramas,” Annie’s tone was filled with awe, and Jeff grinned and shook his head. He didn’t know anyone who got as excited over “extra-credit” work like his Annie.

The sight of Pierce’s face, filled with amazement at Annie’s words, almost had Jeff reconsidering. But that was ridiculous. Pierce hated homework as much as the rest of the group. Well, all of them except Annie, of course.

“Is it still cool if I sleep over at your place tonight, right?” Troy asked Abed. And Jeff turned his focus to the younger men on the opposite end of the table from him.

“Totally. Hey! Since we’re both done with classes, we can get the sleepover started right now,” Abed suggested.

“Let’s get in our pajamas, and build a blanket fort,” Troy added excitedly.

Jeff grinned at Annie as she stepped around him to take her seat at the table, he caught her hand for a moment and raised his eyebrows at her as Britta, Troy, and Abed discussed the blanket fort. Annie grinned and nodded at him, patting his hand.

“They’re fine,” she whispered. “I promise.”

Jeff nodded, but didn’t release her hand as she took her seat next to Shirley.

“Britta, that wasn’t nice,” Shirley was saying, and Jeff turned to Britta who looked disinterested.

“I’m sorry, Shirley,” Britta said. “But who wants to hang out in a blanket fort, with grown men in tiny Underoos?”

“Even if one of them is your  **gold** - _ thread _ ?” Annie asked in amazement. Jeff knew that with their own connection, and with the research she had done on other  **gold** - _ threaded _ couples, she was always stunned by the way Britta and Troy seemed to interact with each other as opposed to how they did.

Britta simply shrugged, as the dean strode quickly into the room after the classic tee-up of her question. Jeff rolled his eyes and smirked.

_ Of course. _

“Hello! So, Jeffrey, I was just looking over your class schedule,” Dean Pelton said, as he placed the printout of Jeff’s schedule on the table.

“Why?” Jeff asked, confused.

“Uh,” the dean hesitated, placing his hands on his hips. “Maybe it was a random spot check. Maybe it was a specific spot check.” Jeff tilted his head at that. “Maybe I’m making a scrapbook. The point is, you will  _ not _ be receiving credit for your independent study:  _ Conspiracy Theories in U.S. History. _ ”

“What? Why not?” Jeff asked in stunned confusion. He looked over at Annie who was studying him intently.

“Because the class doesn’t exist,” Dean Pelton responded. “And neither does the teacher, Professor Professorson?”

“What? That’s his name! It’s Dutch!” Jeff argued, turning to Annie as she removed her hand from his and folded her arms beneath her breasts. Jeff’s eyes dropped down to the cleavage displayed through the unbuttoned portion of her sweater, before returning his focus to the matter at hand.

_ Not the time to be ogling Annie, Jeff. Focus. You have to talk your way out of this, no one can know why you created a fake class for credit, and why you haven’t been coming home every Thursday night because of this “Independent Study,” especially not Annie. You have to throw the dean off the scent. Maybe if you took your shirt off? _ His inner self suggested.

“I think it means, professor,” Jeff continued.

Dean Pelton groaned and rolled his eyes, as Jeff pleaded with his eyes towards Annie, hoping she believed him.

“I think it means, poppycock,” Dean Pelton argued.

“The ultimate Jeff Winger blow-off class,” Britta mocked. “The one that doesn’t exist.” She gave him two thumbs up and Jeff gave her a  _ different _ finger up.

“Now I have to audit an entire system for shenanigans,” Dean Pelton explained, leaning over to pick up Jeff’s printed out schedule. “Which means, bye-bye weekends. Bye-bye writing at Starbucks till a certain Persian barista asks me about my novel.”

“God, Jeff, it’s one thing to blow off regular classes,” Annie stated with annoyance and disappointment evident in her tone. “But this devalues all the credits I worked very hard for while being pregnant, and after giving birth to  _ your _ children.”

Jeff’s eyes flicked towards Shirley for a brief moment, imploring her to not speak, as he focused on the woman who was his everything.

“Mmhmm,” Dean Pelton agreed.

“Can I just defend myself and say this is nuts?” Jeff interrupted. “I’ve been meeting with this professor, in his office, every Wednesday, all semester.”

“Professor Professorson?” Dean Pelton clarified with skepticism coloring his words.

“Yes,” Jeff answered, refusing to make eye-contact with Shirley.

“Really?” Dean Pelton looked at Jeff with amazement. “You’re gonna commit to this?”

“Commit to what?” Jeff asked, making sure that his face and body language all displayed his innocence and confusion to the situation as well as he possibly could. “Reality?”

“Okay, then, please, lead me to Professor Professorson,” Dean Pelton ordered, stretching his hand out. Jeff gave Shirley a definitive  _ “Don’t Say A Word” _ look as he rose to his feet.

“Gladly,” he retorted, his mind swirling with how to get himself out of this situation without having to reveal all, and without risking Annie being even more disappointed with him than she already was.

“This I’ve got to see,” Annie stated, as she pushed back her seat and grabbed her backpack and the ever-present purple diaper bag that she never went  _ anywhere _ without, and rose to follow.

Jeff swallowed thickly and nodded.

“I’ve always dreamt of playing charades with you, Jeffrey, just not like this, and not on dry land,” Dean Pelton stated with reproach.

*** *** *** ***

As Annie and Dean Pelton followed Jeff to “Professor Profesorson’s” office, Annie’s cellphone buzzed in the pocket of her dress, she slowed down just a bit and tugged out the small black device to see that it was Doreen calling. Afraid that something had happened to one of the twins, or that Matthew’s catheter had become clogged, Annie quickly answered.

“Doreen? Is everything okay?”

Doreen laughed into the phone, the sound of delight instantly making Annie smile. She realized that Jeff had stopped once he heard his mother’s name, and he was quickly striding back to her, concern evident on his handsome, pointy face.

“Oh, dear, please don’t worry. Everything is fine. Both twins are having tummy time, and Mari reaches over for Matty every so often, letting him lean on her, and use his arms as he pushes himself up,” Doreen answered.

Annie smiled and closed her eyes as relief swam through her entire being. She reached out for Jeff’s forearms and smiled up at him in reassurance when she found his eyes looking down at her with fear and concern evident in them.

_ “They’re okay _ ,” she reassured him again. Jeff nodded, and though his shoulders sank in relief for a moment, he didn’t move away from Annie, no doubt trying to hear what his mother was saying.

“I was just calling to see how your  _ lesson _ was going, Annie,” Doreen told her, and Annie’s heart pounded in her chest. Not only because of the tricky, slippery situation she was in, but because of Jeff’s proximity.

“Everything with the diorama is going well, Doreen, thank you so much for asking. I haven’t taken it to the cafeteria just yet, I’m with Jeff, checking up on a  _ class _ of his,” Annie responded, hoping Doreen could read between the lines. When Jeff cleared his throat and looked down at her with wide eyes, silently pleading with her to either believe him or to not tell his mom, Annie glared at him. “But, after that, I’ll have Jeff help me move it to the cafeteria.”

“Ohh,” Doreen breathed through the phone, obviously having picked up on Annie’s cues. “Well, that one actor? The one you asked me about? Word has it that he’s in between roles right now, and is going to be ready for his first one in a long time, in about 5 months.”

_ Professor Garrity, aka Professor Wooley, aka Professor Professorson will be ready to introduce himself to Dean Pelton, Annie, and Jeff, outside of the storage room, in 5 minutes. _

“That’s great!” Annie grinned, bouncing just a bit on her tiptoes. “Well, I’ll call you later to check back up on the twins,” Annie said.

“Okay, honey. Good luck!”

Annie nodded, then hung up the phone. Turning back to Jeff, who was watching her closely, She poked him in the chest and narrowed her eyes. “Now that we know our children are fine, take us to  _ Professor Professorson’s _ office.”

Jeff swallowed thickly again, and nodded, spinning around and heading back to the storage room/office of his pretend professor.

Annie’s heart pounded with anticipation. She was going to have to do some major acting in a bit, she could only hope that she pulled off shock, surprise, and disappointment well.

*** *** *** ***

“One man’s lies are another man’s truth, Jeff, wouldn’t you say?”

Though it had been surprising to him that a man he didn’t know, had shown up with a name he’d made up, Jeff simply shrugged it off. Just as he shrugged off Dean Pelton’s words about his book: Time Desk: The Chronicles of Dean Dangerous. Sort of.

“That is going to be the worst book I’ll ever read cover to cover,” he mused, his thundering heart slowing as he realized that once again he’d gotten away with something.

“I’m a terrible girlfriend,” Annie said then, looking disappointed, and sorry, but this time the disappointment was in herself. Jeff wanted to reassure her that it was okay, but he knew that he couldn’t tell her what he’d  _ really _ been up to. “I accused you of being a lying cheat.” As her big, blue eyes looked up at him, sadness and self-disgust evident in her gaze, Jeff knew that while he couldn’t tell her everything, he could at least tell her some of it. “Can you ever forgive me?”

“Sure.” He nodded. “Here’s the thing, though: I’ve never seen that guy in my life,” he told Annie with a smile on his face as he looked down the hall in the direction that “Professor Professorson” had gone in.

“What? That wasn’t Professor Professorson?” Annie asked.

“There is  _ no _ Professor Professorson,” Jeff told her, shaking his head. “I made him up. I forged a form with a phony teacher and class for a free credit.”

“I knew it!” Annie gasped, smacking his chest and arm. “Oh! You lying cheat!” Jeff merely smiled at her, finding her reaction adorable. “Wait, then… who was that?” She asked with a gasp.

Jeff shook his head, not really caring, though he knew that Annie’s obsession with knowing  _ everything _ to do with him, their kids, and especially academia would lead to her snooping around and getting to the bottom of things. Jeff wasn’t concerned, knowing that as long as she was focused on discovering who “Professor Professorson”  _ really _ was, she wouldn’t be worried about what  _ he _ was doing, when he should be home with her and the kids.

“I don’t know,” he answered.

“Wait, what?” Annie gasped after a second.

“I don’t know,” Jeff interrupted her with a small chuckle.

“What should we do?” Annie asked.

“I think we should grab some lunch,” Jeff responded, watching as “Fat Neil,” a moniker Jeff himself had coined and given to the somewhat obese college kid when pointing out something to someone else, which had caught on and spread throughout the school. Jeff sometimes felt bad about what he’d done, especially when he thought about the possibility of one of his kids being overweight and teased by some… almost middle-aged, devilishly handsome, selfish, lazy, charismatic, disgraced, former lawyer… man.

Like him.

“I’m serious,” Annie replied, looking up at him, the top of her head barely grazing the bottom of his chin.

“So am I,” Jeff retorted. “I just saw Fat Neil headed to the cafeteria with that look in his eye. We’ve got 10 minutes to grab the last lima bean.”

“Jeff! You made up a professor and he just appeared out of thin air,” Annie pointed out. “You’re not the least bit curious how that happened?”

Jeff felt his chest swell a bit at her words. “My latest theory? Maybe I’m a god. I’ve denied the signs for too long,” he teased.

Annie rolled her eyes as they continued striding down the hallway towards the cafeteria. Jeff was hoping to get a few minutes of lunchtime with Annie before she left to go and feed the twins. So he kept walking in spite of Annie spiraling in the face of a problem that  _ obviously _ needed to be solved.

“So typical, you’re just gonna blow off what happened?”

“Yes, especially when  _ not _ blowing it off might cost me my free credit,” Jeff replied. “Now, do me a favor…” He turned to Annie and stared down into her beautiful face. “Be very  _ un-Annie _ , and blow it off too.”

The look of shock, surprise, and…  _ hurt _ that briefly flashed in Annie’s eyes almost had him apologizing and taking back his words, until Annie’s face turned into one of determination and sarcasm.

“Oh, sure. Oh, I’ll just blow it off. I’ll just blow everything off,” Annie said as she walked backward in front of him. “Heck! I guess I’ll just blow off walking.”

“Okay,” Jeff responded, staring down at her, admiration and love, and just a bit of impressed humor, colliding around inside of him as he looked down at her.

“And now I’ll just blow off standing,” Annie said, as she collapsed to the ground in front of him. Jeff stared at her in surprise, her dress surprisingly still pulled down modestly over her thighs, and almost to her knees. “I’m just blowing  _ everything _ off.”

“Annie,” Jeff admonished her. He lifted her up. “Cut it out, you have two children.”

Annie narrowed her eyes. “And maybe I’ll just blow off talking language.” She huffed. “Bleeh-blooh-blah-blooh-blah!”

Jeff rolled his eyes, even as he practically had to carry her with him to the cafeteria, order her food (soup and salad for the both of them, since Annie refused to talk or stand on her own, having “blown everything off,”), and get Shirley to help him carry her tray over to the group’s normal table. Annie sat down across from him, rather than beside him, only talked to Shirley, and left soon after, to go and feed their children. As much as she’d “blown everything off” Jeff knew that there was no way Annie would neglect their children, or do anything but provide them the best care.

After she’d left, Jeff turned back to Shirley, to find the other woman’s eyes on him.

“Why don’t you just tell her that you’ve been with me on Wednesdays, Jeff-rey?” Shirley asked, disappointment and exasperation in her eyes.

Jeff rolled his own and shook his head. “For what? So she can be disappointed in me for keeping secrets from her?”

“But these are  _ good _ secrets, Jeff-rey!” Shirley disagreed. “Lord knows I believe the good book when it says that lying is  _ wrong _ , but when you’re doing what you’re doing? Trying to find the perfect engagement ring, talking to Annie’s parents, and trying to smooth things over so that you can ask them for their blessing to marry their daughter, taking lessons from me on how to be a better father and husband? Even reaching out to that detective friend of yours to find Annie’s old rehab pals so they can be there for the big engagement? I mean, Jeff-rey, you’ve watched every Zac Efron film, appearance, and interview, and even had Abed draft up a “Must See Rom-Com List” so you can give her the most perfect proposal. Annie would be touched. Pleased. Sooo  _ happy _ !” Shirley reached out to grip his forearm. “Just tell her.”

Jeff swallowed and considered her words.

“Maybe,” he said.

A consideration that quickly disappeared when he noticed “Professor Professorson” walking down the hallway, past the cafeteria…

Talking to Dean Pelton… and  _ Annie _ .

“What. The…”

*** *** *** ***

“Here he comes, get set,” Annie hissed out to Jeff and Professor Garrity, aka Professor Wooley, aka Professor Professorson as she rushed into position.

After Jeff confronted Dean Pelton with the fact that he knew that the dean was trying to “teach” him a lesson with the whole “Professor Professorson” night school scam, he realized that there was no way that Dean  _ Craig _ Pelton was behind the entire thing. The obviously polyamorous, pansexual, bald-man wasn’t smart enough to have pulled off the scheme on his own, which meant only one person could have thought it all up.

_ Annie _ .

But once he got Dean Pelton to admit that Annie was behind it all and then got Craig to agree to conspire with him against Annie, Jeff remembered (not that he ever really forgot) that Annie was his life partner. His heart’s beat. His  _ everything _ . And how could he really set out to do something that would make her look bad? So, he talked to Annie, and once the both of them realized that the dean was conspiring with the both of them against the other, they decided to teach him a lesson.

And so they did.

Once Annie had shot “Professor Professorson”/Professor Wooley/Professor Garrity, and the dean had shot her, and Jeff had shot him, it came time for the biggest twist.

“Jeff! What are you doing? Why do you have a real gun? Why did you shoot the dean?” Annie fake cried, putting her best acting skills to work.

“Well, he shot you!” Jeff yelled back, winking at Annie, while Dean Pelton played dead on the ground.

“Not really. He and I were in on this from the start,” Annie denied Jeff’s words and admitted to the truth, something that she knew Dean Pelton expected. “When he found out you were faking a class, he came to me and we cooked up this whole conspiracy thing,” Annie continued, struggling not to cry with laughter when Jeff put his hands atop his head, one of which was holding a prop gun, and pretended to look distressed by her words. “To-to illustrate the slippery slope of academic fraud.”

“Well, you know what you actually illustrated, Annie?” Jeff asked, and Annie saw him nod at Dean Pelton through the tears that she found very easy to bring to the forefront. “How to be a crappy  **gold** - _ thread. _ ” He walked over to Dean Pelton and held out his hand lifting the slender, bald-man from the floor. “Once it was obvious the dean had orchestrated everything, it was even more obvious that the dean was too stupid to orchestrate anything.”

“Mm-hm,” Dean Pelton agreed, with a smug, ignorant nod to his own stupidity.

“So, on a hunch, I called him, and we hatched a plan to teach  _ you _ a lesson or two about being in an adult relationship,” Jeff said, and though Annie knew he was supposed to say it, his words still stung a bit. They poked at the sensitive, self-inflicted wound she had regarding her relationship with Jeff. The difference in their ages and the fact that, though they were separated by about 16 years of age, neither one of them was really experienced when it came to being in an adult relationship. There was too much opportunity for the both of them to act, to  _ react _ , to say something which would hurt the other, harm their  _ threaded  _ connection, and maybe even tear apart their little makeshift family.

That fear was driving her, and she wasn’t able to tell Jeff that she was freaking out. That she needed for him to comfort her. Which may have been the reason that she went  _ completely _ off-script.

“But, Jeff, I only did it because I love you!” She gasped out, real tears rolling down her cheeks. It wasn’t the first time she’d said those words to him, but every other time had been in the privacy of their home. An intimate moment only shared by their children or his mother, or even just the two of them alone. Annie’s heart pounded in her chest, even as tears continued to streak down her cheeks. She wasn’t just talking about getting revenge on him for manipulating her in regards to their son’s name. She wasn’t just talking about him faking a class to get a credit. She wasn’t even talking about the fact that he’d lied about the class so that he could spend Wednesdays at Shirley’s house, getting “Daddy Lessons” not only from Shirley, but from Shirley’s estranged husband who, in Shirley’s own words: “May have been a terrible father, but was an amazing father.” Shirley had been riddled with guilt and scared that keeping the secret would cause a fraying in the threads Annie and Jeff had.

No, Annie was talking about all of it. She had given birth before she turned 20, to Jeff’s babies because she loved him. She had derailed, rearranged, reorganized, and replanned her entire life, goals, and schedule for him. To be with him. To build a life with him.

Annie had done it all  _ because she loved him _ .

And wasn’t that a sobering thought? Anne Ruth Edison, “Annie”, had never had anyone in her life that she cared for enough, that she  _ loved _ enough, to be okay with replanning her schedule, rearranging her goals, in order to accommodate the other person’s presence. Well, no one except herself. She’d loved herself enough to go to rehab rather than straight on to an Ivy League school after high school, crippled by a pill addiction. And she loved Jeff enough now, to declare it publicly, and to admit, even if only to herself, what her biggest desire was.

_ I want to be Mrs. Annie Edison-Winger. _

Her vocal declaration of love, in front of an audience, had caused both Dean Pelton and Jeff to stumble for a moment, the dean’s eyes growing wide. But it was Jeff’s reaction that affected Annie most of all.

Their **purple** _thread_ vibrated from Jeff’s end _towards_ her, and from her _towards_ him. Over and over. Back and forth. Sending an _awareness_ through Annie that she’d never quite had before.

_ Holy cow. _

“Well, when you love someone, you have to take them as they are,” Jeff said, his face serious, his eyes conveying things that the situation would not allow. “People aren’t playthings, Annie.”

The dean looked away from Jeff and back at Annie. “No, they are not.”

Annie narrowed her eyes at both men and reached behind her back, to pull out the other prop gun, which had been filled with red paint pellets, and looked (and felt) remarkably like the gun she’d once owned when she lived above Dildopolis.

“Well, look who’s talking,” she said through gritted teeth, lifting the gun up towards Jeff’s chest, ignoring Dean Pelton’s gasp. “After everything you’ve put me through?”

Both men raised their hands in surrender, but Annie knew that she had to sell it, especially if she and Jeff were going to really teach Dean Pelton a lesson. She advanced towards Jeff, drawing on the hurt and anger she’d felt when he’d started dating Professor Slater. The rejection she’d felt when he’d practically pushed her into Vaughn’s arms.

The fear and anxiety she felt the moment she found out she was pregnant, and the moment she found out that one of their babies wouldn’t be “perfect.” She’d been so scared that Jeff would leave her. Abandon her. That once again she’d fallen short in someone’s eyes.

“Okay, where did you get that gun?” Jeff asked, glancing over at Dean Pelton as he stepped away from the other man and towards the door. “There were only three prop guns.”

“Yeah, well, I used to live in a terrible neighborhood before we  _ finally _ got together,” Annie reminded him (and everyone in the room).

“Annie. Put the gun down.”

“After we slept together during Paintball Assassin Freshman year, I waited for you to fight for me. For you to decide that us being **gold** - _threaded_ , us being _soulmates_ , was more important than your fears. That my age didn’t bother you. That my past didn’t bother you. That I was enough. No matter what. But you… _buried_ _me_ like a shameful secret. Went after Professor Slater, pushed me towards Vaughn, refused to _fight_ for me. You just… _let me go_ …”

“Whoa,” Dean Pelton breathed out, but Annie knew she had to ignore him.

_ You can do it. Just… shoot the man you love. Shoot the father of your children. Do it. _

“What’s the matter, Jeff? Afraid Crazy Annie would go crazy for you? That Annie Adderall couldn’t give you perfect children?” She saw the confusion and despair cross Jeff’s face and knew she would have to tell him that she was speaking on her own fears.

_ Later _ .

“Well guess what? Annie’s got a gun!” Annie said before pulling the trigger three times, cutting off Jeff’s “Annie, just put the gun do—”. The sound of the prop gun going off echoed around the room. Jeff fell backward, the three red “blood” pellets hitting his shirt, looking like real gunshot wounds.

Dean Pelton screamed and sobbed harshly. “Annie! What have you done?” He asked, his face crumpling in despair as he gestured to the “bleeding and lifeless form” of Jeffrey Winger.

Annie cried out and threw her arms outward. “Well, if you love Jeff Winger so much, why did you conspire with me against him?” She asked.

The dean turned from her in guilty, heartbroken, frustration, his voice still trembling as his tears rolled down his cheeks. “I don’t know! I can’t keep track of any of it anymore!” He sobbed. “I just keep teaming up with whoever suggests it.”

“Glad to hear you admit it,” Jeff called out from the floor. Dean Pelton screamed at the reality of Jeff being alive, and Annie couldn’t help the smug feeling that washed over her.

She and Jeff chastised the dean, before they themselves were taught a lesson by Professor Garrity and Officer Cackowski. They met back up in the blanket fort with their friends and shared what had happened with them, as they all shared a meal from Uncle Rusty’s. After Abed and Troy collapsed the blanket fort, Annie found herself gathered in Jeff’s arms. He looked down at her, and brushed away a few strands of her hair from her cheek.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Annie frowned and tilted her head. “For what?”

“For every time I ever made you doubt if I wanted you or not. For every time I made you think that I would choose anyone else other than you. I knew, the moment I saw that **gold** - _thread_ , the minute I saw the **purple, black, silver** _threads,_ even before that…” He took a deep breath. “I knew the _second_ you stepped into the classroom that my life was going to be changed forever. I’m so glad that I was right.” He took her lips with his own, giving her a deep kiss. “You are _it_ for me, Annie Edison.”

Annie sniffled. “Even though I didn’t give you two perfectly healthy babies?” She asked, her voice shaking.

Jeff blinked at her. “What are you talking about? You did.”

Annie’s eyes filled with tears at his words.

“Both of our kids, Martha and Matthew, are perfect because they are a mix of you and me. That’s all that matters.”

Annie buried her head in his chest and cried for a moment, before she sat back up and accepted the slightly greasy, french-fry smelling napkin, from Jeff’s hand.

“C’mon. Let’s get home. I want to see our kids,” Jeff suggested. “Plus, I don’t want anyone to walk up on me being all sentimental and romantic and shit.”

Annie snorted out a laugh, smacked Jeff’s shoulder, but allowed him to help her out of the demolished blanket fort, to the parking lot, and into her car, before she smiled the entire drive home, Jeff’s face: smiling from his own car, following her the whole way.

*** *** *** ***

Troy and Abed sat in the study room, waiting for the rest of the group to arrive (they couldn’t  _ believe _ they’d beat Anne there), on the couch that they often recorded segments of “Troy and Abed in the Morning” from.

“Once,” Abed said, with no preamble.

“Upon,” Troy replied, his unique relationship with Abed, and the platonic,  _ soulmate _ ,  **gold** - _ thread _ , that they shared, allowing him to follow along with what the thin man was doing.

“A.”

“Time.”

“There.”

“Was.”

“A…”

Troy scrambled for a second, before he responded.

“Big.”

“Spaceship.”

“And.”

“Aliens.”

“And.”

“Mercenaries.”

“And?” Troy continued, now intrigued by the story playing out in his head, the one he was sure was playing out in Abed’s.

“War.”

“And?”

“Betrayal.”

“And?” Troy sat up fully and leaned towards Abed.

“Romance.”

“And?” Troy rolled his eyes, though he had a platonic soulmate and a romantic soulmate, he didn’t want to  _ think _ about his romantic one (Britta was great… really), or romance at all, he just wanted to hear how the story ended.

“Karate.”

“And?” Troy asked, excited again.

“Credits!”

“The.”

“End.” Abed nodded with satisfaction and pride.

Troy’s mouth hung open for only a moment before he made, what he thought, was a brilliant suggestion.

“We should write a screenplay together!”

“Cool. Cool, cool, cool.”

*** *** *** ***

Later that evening, Jeff and Annie lay in bed together, both sweaty from their amorous attentions on one another. Jeff leaned down and pressed a kiss to Annie’s shoulder, smirking when she moaned and trembled at his touch. Of course, he tried to wipe that expression off his face when Annie looked up at him through narrowed eyes. Of course, that smirk became a laugh of pure masculine satisfaction when she then rolled her eyes at him.

“Proud of yourself?” She asked, as she sat up in bed and began searching for her nightgown. Jeff shifted on the mattress next to her, using his left hand to push the cotton of her sleep attire further beneath his pillow. While he would never tell her, Jeff had a box where he’d been storing all of his favorite “Annie” things. It was the same box that he used to put the panties of the women he slept with, before tossing them all in a random trash can on the street the day before Annie moved in with him at his old condo. It hadn’t felt right, building a life with Annie, preparing for their children, while holding onto mementos from random one-night stands who he’d allowed to come to his place.

Of course, his need to have… souvenirs or trinkets of every happy or memorable sexual moment with Annie had led to him swiping her nightgowns, panties, bras, etc. Of course, he always replaced them, but that didn’t stop him from still taking them. So he folded his arms behind his head and watched Annie lifting up the covers and searching the floor, before she huffed and climbed out of bed and headed over to her dresser to pull out an oversized Greendale t-shirt.

It had been a birthday gift from Dean Pelton to Jeff last year. He’d almost immediately given it to Annie.

When Annie turned back to face him, Jeff tried to adopt a look of innocence. Annie huffed again and headed to their bathroom. Jeff gave her a moment before he rose and headed her way, completely nude. He knew Annie was upset about something.

He also knew that as soon as he talked to her, apologized for  _ whatever _ he had done wrong, that he was going to make love to her again.

He leaned against the doorframe of the bathroom and watched as Annie pulled her hair up into a topknot at the top of her head, while the water ran in their large jacuzzi bathtub. She’d used it every night since leaving the hospital. Usually, Jeff would join her, and he had every intention of doing that again that very night, but he wanted to get this discussion out of the way first.

_ I want to talk before having sex? Annie Edison has  _ ruined _ me _ , he thought to himself.

“Sooo are you going to tell me what’s wrong, or are you just going to keep huffing and stomping around?”

Annie turned to glare at him for a moment, before her face relaxed and her eyes filled almost immediately with tears.

_ Oh shit. What did I do wrong? Think, Winger. Think! _

“Annie?” He stepped forward, but stopped when Annie shook her head at him and covered her mouth with a hand. “Oh god, what the fuck’s wrong?” He flinched when Annie reached out to smack his shoulder.

“Jeff! Language!”

He chuckled. “The babies are in the nursery, in their cribs, asleep.”

“It’s not about the babies. Using profanity is a stupid’s man way to provide excitement to their speech,” Annie practically recited.

Jeff leaned down towards her. “And was it your overbearing mother, your absentee father, or your disinterested rabbi who taught you that?”

Annie’s mouth dropped open and it was as if his ears popped.

What. The. Fuck?

He watched as Annie clenched her jaw, inhaled deeply, and exhaled slowly. “Unclench, Jeff. I’m not going to leave you, but I am going to make you pay for that.” She turned away from him and went to turn off the faucets over the jacuzzi.

“Are you… satisfied, Jeff?” Annie asked, as she went to pull off his shirt.

“Satisfied? With what?” He asked in a shaky breath as he walked towards her.

“With um… with… tonight? The past few weeks? Our… um…” Annie shrugged.

It didn’t take Jeff long to follow Annie’s train of thought. Not only was he a man, but he was a man who was  **gold** ,  **purple** ,  **silver** ,  **black** , and  **green** - _ threaded _ to Annie Edison. Literally one of the hottest women on the planet. So his mind was always three seconds away from thinking about having sex with her… again. Even when he’s in the middle of having sex with her.

He tsked as he walked over to Annie and finished pulling the shirt from her body. He ran his hands over her curves, over her stomach which still had a bit of a pouch to it, then leaned down to suck at one of her bare breasts. He groaned when Annie sank a hand into his hair, tightened her fingers in the strands, and hissed. He flicked his tongue at her nipple, before blowing on the hardened nub, and moving over to the left one and giving it the same attention. He lifted Annie up into his arms and sat her down on the edge of the tub. He lowered himself to the floor in front of her, and pushed her legs apart.

“Jeff,” Annie gasped.

He simply smiled at her, then leaned down to swipe his tongue up one side of her heated center. He groaned as her taste coated his tongue. Jeff slid his eyes closed as he pressed closer to her and lost himself in pleasing her. He ran his fingers over the stretch marks that littered her skin, those “scars” evidence of not only her carrying his children, but her strength at birthing them at such a young age.

He ran his fingers over the scar on her belly from the C-Section, moving his lips up to kiss along the evidence of the incision, licking away the fluids of her desire that had transferred from his mouth onto her skin.

“Jeff, please,” Annie groaned, and Jeff nodded, quickly, but gently slipping two fingers deep in Annie’s center, where he began a slow dance of thrusting, twisting, pounding, caressing, stroking, rubbing, and finger-fucking until Annie tilted her head back and, with her mouth hanging open, came with the loudest and most satisfied groan, Jeff had ever heard in all of his 30- _something_ -years. Once he was sure that she was thoroughly satiated, Jeff slid his fingers from within her, wrapped them around his shaft, and stroked furiously, even as he leaned forward and continued to lap at her quivering folds.

It didn’t take long at all for Jeff to reach his own orgasm, and he shivered when Annie directed his seed onto her belly.

_ Holy. Shit. I’ve created a sex monster… _

_ And I love it. _

Long minutes later, Annie stirred and tapped him on the shoulder. They both climbed into the jacuzzi tub, the water still surprisingly hot. Jeff wrapped his arms around Annie’s middle and pulled her back against his chest as he leaned against the side of the tub, the water and bubbles covering Annie over her shoulders.

“Jeff?”

He lifted his head from the rim of the tub and looked down into her upturned face.

“Hmm?”

“Are you um… okay?” She asked.

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean… because we can’t…  _ you know _ …” Annie’s eyes widened as he waved her hand over the lower halves of their bodies.

She was adorable.

Even after everything they’d done together, after her enthusiasm in sucking him off, or having his tongue thrusting in and out of her moist heat, the fact that Annie was still shy and embarrassed about their physical relationship always served to fill him with an unexpected warmth.

He chuckled and leaned down to press his lips to her forehead. “It’s fine,” he assured her. When she gave him a look of skepticism, Jeff shook his head. “Okay, I admit it, I miss feeling you wrapped tight around me, soaking me, pulsating around me when I make you cum.” He trembled. “But I still get to touch you. To taste you. To fill you up in other ways. And I still get to feel your hands on me, your lips on my face…”

He traced the side of her neck with his lips.

“And I still get to see my cum on your skin.” When Annie shivered, Jeff growled a bit.

“Are you sure?”

He tugged her closer to him. “I’m positive. I love you. All of you. Your mind, your ambition, your determination, your uncompromising nature… I love your body, yes, but I also love your selflessness, your kindness, your giving spirit. The way you love our kids, and our friends…” He cleared his throat.

“The way you love me.”

Annie inhaled sharply and stared up at him. Jeff nodded. “I know that I can be too arrogant, and overly cocky, and extremely selfish, at times, but I’m not so stupid that I don’t recognize how lucky I am to have you.”

Annie sniffled and tugged him down until their lips collided. They kissed fiercely and passionately, and it wasn’t until they separated that Annie spoke again.

“And I’m lucky to have you as well.”

*** *** *** ***

Annie had expected a bit more chaos when the entire group came over to the house, or what Abed and Troy had started to call “The Winger Estate,” for Thanksgiving, but everyone seemed…  _ sedate _ .

Which really freaked her out.

She’d expected more than simply a handful of movie and television show references from Abed.

She’d expected Troy to be a bit more… confused about what was taking place around them… though he was still pretty confused.

She was expecting Britta to be more… high-handed and yet, obtuse in her high-handed philanthropic rhetoric.

She’d expected Shirley to be more religious… though how that could be possible baffles the mind.

And Pierce… well, Annie really expected more racism, misogyny, and homophobia from him.

Instead, her friends had arrived, all with gifts for the twins, and with a side dish to serve along with the food that Annie and Doreen had already prepared.

She thanked them all profusely, but looked over at Jeff continuously hoping that he would shed some light on how and why their “family” was behaving so… normally.

It wasn’t until everyone was gathering their coats, scarves, boots (because, of course, Annie had a shoe shelf inside of their home next to the front door for everyone to put their shoes when they came in), and saying goodbye, that Annie found out what was going on. Britta had given the twins awkward pats on the head as she went to step out of the door, when Shirley took Annie’s hand and stepped off with her to the side.

Annie glanced up at the older woman who, next to Jeff’s mother, had been a surrogate parent for her. Which would explain the knot in her stomach. Annie had always wanted to please her mother, had always wanted to do whatever she could to make her happy, and she had to fight that urge with Shirley and Doreen daily.

“Did you have a good Thanksgiving, An-nie?” Shirley asked in her lilting tone.

Annie nodded. “Yes, of course, I did, Shirley. You know I love being with all of you.”

Shirley glanced behind Annie at something or someone, before she returned her gaze back to the younger woman’s face. “I’m so glad, honey. We all wanted to make sure that your first Thanksgiving as a mother, your first holiday as part of a  **gold-** _ threaded _ couple, was perfect.”

Annie’s mouth dropped open as she took in Shirley’s words, she glanced over her shoulder where Jeff stood holding their son, Matthew, lovingly and carefully, though his eyes were trained on where Annie stood with Shirley, and realized what he had done.

_ My stupid, pointy-faced, arrogant, jackass, softy. _

She smiled back at Shirley.

“Well, you all did a great job. Thank you.”

And after the last of their friends had left, Annie kissed Jeff soundly, their children pressed between them, as she showed him how thankful she was for him, for their family…

And for being  _ threaded _ to someone who was so... 

Well, so  _ Jeff Winger _ .

*** *** *** ***

After the group celebrated Troy’s birthday together, Annie helped Jeff stumble into their home, waving goodbye to Troy, Britta, and Abed, as the three of them climbed out of Jeff’s Lexus, and into the waiting cab, in order to get home.

“Aannniiieee,” Jeff slurred nuzzling her neck.

“What Jeff?” Annie giggled, trying to press him back so she could open their bedroom door.

“You so pweettttyyy,” Jeff replied, growling lowly as he pushed himself against Annie’s back.

“Thank you, Jeff. So are you,” she said, rolling her eyes, before she opened the door and shuffled over to their bed, Jeff laying across her back like a jacket.

“No!” Jeff slapped the bed, causing Annie to jump slightly as she knelt in front of him to pull off his shoes. Jeff pushed himself up onto his elbows, frowning at her. Annie wondered what she’d said to upset him so much, but Jeff bit his lip and pointed at her.

“I am pretty here,” he pointed at his face, “but you are pretty everywhere.” He waved his hand over her. “Your face, your boobs, your butt, your  _ pussy _ ,” he stated, whispering the last word. “And inside too. I don’t deserve you. But I love you. And I will marry you one day, Annie. I  _ will _ .”

Her heart pounded in her chest, and she had to swallow back the squeal of happiness that threatened to explode from her, but the moment Jeff groaned and flopped back on their bed, her happiness crashed down around her.

_ He’s drunk. You can’t take anything he says right now to heart, because he’s drunk _ .

And though she tried to stabilize her heart with those words, Annie Edison experienced a deep kind of disappointment that stayed with her for a long time...

Even though she was unaware that Jeff meant every word.

*** *** *** ***

The study group gathered around “their” table in the cafeteria, all of them discussing their plans for Christmas as Dean Pelton made a “politically correct” announcement regarding the celebration of the holidays.

“Jeff’s mom has been buying every, single Christmas and Chanukah decoration known to man, and is attempting to decorate every inch of our house,” Annie said with a wide grin and a slight bounce in her chair.

Jeff rolled his eyes, though he smiled fondly. “Yeah, she even put up  _ ‘baby-friendly’ _ tinsel like decorations around the twins’ cribs.”

The group chuckled as Abed stepped up to the next table, holding his tray of food. He walked with stiff-legged movements to take a seat at the table with Troy. Annie glanced over at Jeff and shared a troubled look.

“Merry Christmas,” Abed stated with his usual monotone.

“Don’t you mean, Season’s Greetings?” Shirley asked with her sweetly cloying tone. Annie shared a look with Jeff at Shirley’s response, but smiled nonetheless.

“C’mon Shirley, you know it’s Christmas,” Abed retorted.

“As a modern Christian, I’ve learned to be sensitive to other cultures’ jealousies,” Shirley stated.

“So what are we doing this year?” Abed asked.

Annie looked over at Jeff and smiled. “I’m taking a relaxation course next semester, and I was gonna use the break to do all the reading in advance.” She answered, and sank into Jeff’s side as he tugged her closer to him with a soft chuckle.

“I’m shutting myself in with my video games. Fake-murdering people is gonna be my new holiday tradition,” Troy answered with a smile.

“Hmm… This is disappointing,” Abed responded.

“What do you care about Christmas, Abed? You’re Muslim,” Pierce said, with his special brand of “Pierceness.” “Don’t your people spend this season writing angry letters to TV Guide?”

“It’s true. Religiously, I’m Muslim. But I’ve always been a big fan of Christmas. And this is the most important Christmas in the history of the universe,” Abed declared with a finger pointed skyward. “I’m assuming that’s why we’re all stop-motion animated.”

Annie sat up straight and stared at Abed.

“I vote we let it go,” Jeff stated, though Annie could feel the tension in his body.

What was going on with Abed? Was he okay? What did he mean?

“What did you say we were, Abed?” Britta asked.

“We’re stop-motion animated,” Abed responded.

“I don’t understand what he’s saying,” Shirley said softly.

“I never understand what any of you are saying,” Pierce admitted.

“You guys don’t see it? I noticed it this morning,” Abed remarked. “That’s how I knew it was a special Christmas. We’ve clearly entered a new medium.”

Jeff let out a sound of concern. “Abed, does the word ‘clearly’ mean the same thing to you as it does to normal people?”

“It’s probably Arabic for ‘not clearly’” Pierce said and laughed, holding up a hand to Troy for a high-five.

Troy rolled his eyes and huffed. “You really expect me to tarnish the high-five for that?”

Pierce dropped his hand and looked away in shame and disappointment.

“You guys really don’t see what I’m seeing?” Abed asked. He frowned and glanced away. “That worries me a little.”

“I think it worries all of us,” Britta stated, and Annie shared a look with the older woman. “Is there something that we can do to help you with your… situation, Abed?”

“For starters, you could move around more. Not much point in being animated if you don’t,” Abed pointed out. “And I think we should commit to the format, starting with a song.”

Annie looked over at Jeff, and realized that everyone else was as well.

“You start,” Jeff suggested. “I’m sure we’ll join in.”

Annie gasped as Abed jumped up from the table and began to sing a song that sounded suspiciously like a theme song for a quirky, cult-classic type comedy show. She stared at Jeff as he and Britta rose up from the table to follow Abed. She moved to follow, but stopped when Jeff put a hand on her shoulder. She glanced up at him, confusion streaking through her.

“I’ll go,” he told her. “Call my mom and let her know that we’re probably going to be late getting home tonight.” He glanced over at Abed who was dancing and singing his way out of the cafeteria. “I have a feeling we’re gonna be here a while.”

Annie looked over at Abed and nodded with a concerned frown. “Okay, I will.” She placed her hand on top of Jeff’s. “Thank you.”

Jeff blushed slightly and shrugged in an attempt at nonchalance. “Hey, we’re family…”

His words made Annie grin even harder, though it was quickly replaced with another frown of concern as Abed twirled around Britta. “Go,” she directed Jeff swiftly. He nodded and went, following Abed out to the parking lot.

Annie looked at Troy, her eyes wide. “What happened?”

Troy shook his head. “I have no idea.”

Annie glanced back at the entrance to the cafeteria, even as she pulled out her cellphone in order to call Doreen. “I hope we can figure out what’s going on with him, before something else happens that we can’t fix.”

Troy nodded, and Annie turned her attention to her phone to call and let Jeff’s mother know that they were helping a friend and wouldn’t be home until later that evening.

*** *** *** ***

Though she was worried, really worried about Abed, there was something about watching Jeff be so kind and caring about their friend—who had to be on the autism spectrum, right? She would look into it later—that made Annie extremely... wet. Like unbelievably horny, and turned on, and...

_ Jiminy Christmas! _ Annie wanted to get... fuuu—by Jeff! And now.

Without glancing at him, she pulled out her phone and texted the older man.

**Babies’ Mama/My Everything:** _I want you._

Annie watched as Jeff tugged out his phone when it vibrated on the table. Turning it over, he read her text. His eyes widened, he glanced at her, read it again, before turning to look at her for a long time, his eyes trailing up and down her body, before he responded.

**Soulmate:** _ When? _

Annie giggled softly, barely restraining herself from bouncing, and could only hope that no one could smell the evidence of her desire.

**Babies’ Mama/My Everything:** _ Now. _

**Soulmate:** _Done._

But, of course, it wasn’t going to be that simple. It was Greendale, after all, and soon Annie and Jeff found themselves seated at a table imagining that they were traveling with Abed through a winter wonderland as he tried to find the meaning of Christmas. Annie might have been more focused, if only she weren’t so doggone horny. Which is why she was so hurt by Britta calling her fragile. She knew she wasn’t. Heck, she’d just given birth to twins, at a young age! She was living with her boyfriend, her soulmate, her gold-thread, and the father of her children, and his mother. She was in college. She was a recovering addict. And she was pretty sure that she had the highest GPA in the entire school of Greendale Community College (not that she obsessed over that or anything).

So Annie Edison was NOT fragile. And yet... Britta’s words had hurt. More than they should have. Which led to her confessing the hurt and confusion she’d experienced growing up in a half-Jewish, half-Protestant home. She could feel tears coming to her eyes, especially as she thought about her twins growing up in the same kind of environment. Even though Jeff was agnostic—and what even  _ was _ that?—Chanukah was extremely important to her, but she also loved Christmas as well.

When the group ended up “taking out” the Duncan “the Evil Warlock” Annie glanced over at Jeff and knew from his nod that he was thinking the same thing that she was.

“Why don’t you all come over to our place for Christmas this year?” Jeff suggested, wrapping his arm around Annie’s shoulder.

“I guess we can stop being stop-animation now,” Abed mused.

“I don’t know…” Britta hedged. “Why don’t we let it play out through the holidays? It just… feels so right.”

The rest of the group acknowledged Britta’s words with nods and smiles all around, before they grabbed their things and headed out, leaving behind a tied up, rumpled, and distraught Ian Duncan.

That is…

Until Annie Edison meandered back into the study room, an unholy gleam in her eyes. She squatted down in front of the bespectacled, Englishman, and grabbed his askew tie in her tiny fist. She narrowed her gaze on him, and let the barest corner of her mouth quirk up.

“Don’t ever. Try to come. Between me and my family. Ever. Again,” she warned him. She held up a hand when he got ready to protest and shook her head. “Uh-uh-uh,” she tsked. “And if you ever think it’s  _ funny _ to try and sabotage Jeff, to try and ruin our relationship for your own shits and giggles? Just remember that what happened here today?  _ I caused. _ ” She grinned at him evilly. “When you caused Abed to become frozen in his emotional distress, it was  _ me _ who got the group back together.  _ Me _ who knew how to tie you up and how to exact part of my revenge on you for popping the happy Mommy bubble I was in. And it was  _ me _ , who told Dean Pelton and Chang that you were  _ dying _ to hear them read, and act out, every chapter of the Dean’s book.”

The look of fear that came into Ian’s eyes made Annie chuckle. She nodded. “Merry Christmas Professor Duncan, from me, Doreen, Jeff’s mother, Jeff, and our children, Martha and  _ Matthew _ .”

“Annie?” Jeff’s voice called out from the doorway of the study room.

“Coming!” She called back with a sweet smile on her face. “Merry Christmas, Professor!”

And with that, Annie and Jeff left the study room again, passing Dean Pelton and Ben Chang on their way inside.

“Everything okay?” Jeff asked, his eyebrows lowered in concern.

Annie glanced up at him, and felt her heart thud in her chest, answering the furious rhythm of Jeff’s own. She lifted up onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his.

“Everything’s perfect.”

*** *** *** ***

“Jeff! Annie! Wake up! It’s Christmas Day!” Abed and Troy’s voice came from the doorway of their bedroom, and it took Jeff 3.5 seconds to remember that the group—including Shirley and her boys—had all stayed over the night before to celebrate the holiday with them. Indeed, they were discussing the other five members staying through the new year.

Over Jeff’s dead body.

It took him another 3.5 seconds to remember that he and Annie had gotten up to some… adult  _ shenanigans _ the night before and they were both quite naked.

“Wow, Annie… your boobs look fantastic,” Troy said with wonder in his voice.

“Indeed, they are perfectly symmetrical, even after your having given birth, they still appear quite full and I believe the term is perky,” Abed remarked.

Annie let out a scream and jerked the covers over her body.

“Guys! What the  _ hell? _ ” Jeff yelled, grabbing his robe off the end of the bed and jerking it on.

Troy and Abed jerked their eyes upwards.

“I’m not gay, but… I see why Annie enjoys having sex with you,” Abed responded.

Troy nodded and gave a slight head tilt in acknowledgment. “Way to go man.”

Jeff shrugged and glanced down for a moment. “Well, I mean, I was blessed with the tool, but I workout feverishly for the shed the tool is attached to, you know?”

Annie gasped. “JEFF!”

He blinked.  _ Right. Get rid of the goofs. _ “Come on guys, didn’t your parents ever teach you to knock?”

Troy and Abed glanced at each other, then back at Jeff. “No,” they responded simultaneously, shaking their heads.

Jeff sighed in frustration, then grabbed them both by their shoulders and steered them back into the hallway. “Well, allow me to do so. If you come to the bedroom of someone else, and it’s closed, knocked. If you come to a closed bathroom door, knock. If you get to the home of someone else, even if you’re invited, and the door is open… knock.”

Abed pointed at Troy. “We should be writing this down.”

Troy nodded, pointing at the green sheet of construction paper in his hand and the red marker in his other. “Already on it,” he sang.

Jeff stared at the items in Troy’s hands. “Where did you get that?” He asked, a tremor of fear in his voice.

Troy pointed at the chest in the hallway, sitting against the wall, separating Jeff and Annie’s bedroom from the nursery. Jeff groaned and shook his head.

_ This is going to be worse than the purple pen. _

“You took that from the twins’ memory chest?”

Abed tilted his head to the side. “A chest filled with items for Annie to commemorate and memorialize the twins’ achievements and growths, especially Michael. Arts and crafts items, and things that she can one day share with them…” he deduced.

Jeff pointed at Abed. “Thank you, Captain Obvious.”

Troy frowned. “But it’s only one sheet and one marker. Do you really think Annie’s going to know?”

Abed and Jeff both looked at Troy incredulously.

Troy swallowed thickly, his eyes widening.

“Oh no! What do I do?”

Jeff turned his head when he heard an obviously dressed and presentable Annie coming towards them. “I don’t know, but if I were you? I would run. Fast. And run…  _ now.” _

Barely had the words left Jeff’s mouth than Troy and Abed took off running. Annie came and stood next to Jeff, tucking herself under his arm. “What’s wrong with them? Why are they running through our house?”

Jeff glanced down at Annie, and saw the very moment she caught sight of the red marker rolling on the ground, and the sheet of green construction paper, floating gently down to the floor. Jeff watched as she squared her shoulders, prepared himself to hear her scream, when they were both stopped by the most amazing sound.

Their twins were giggling in the nursery.

Jeff and Annie stared at each other, before they headed to the door of the nursery, and peeked inside the room. There, they were startled to see Britta, dressed up as Santa Claus, dancing and singing, and entertaining the twins, who watched her rapturously, both wearing the Christmas outfits that Annie had laid out the night before, their diapers freshly changed, if the still open Diaper Genie was any indication, and having been fed their bottles, if the two empty ones on the dresser were also any indication.

“Jeff,” Annie whispered, tears evident in her tone.

“I know,” Jeff whispered back, pulling her into his arms. “She’s a pretty awesome aunt.”

Annie nodded. “Our kids are so blessed to have the family they have.” She sniffled. “Even with their weird uncles.”

“Agreed,” Jeff chuckled.

“If you two are going to eavesdrop and be nosey, can you at least be quiet?” Britta muttered. “I’m doing my best work here.” She then went on to do Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas,” at which point, Jeff took Annie’s hand, and the two of them headed towards the kitchen, to have breakfast with their family.

*** *** *** ***

After everyone had eaten, cleaned up the kitchen—per Annie’s instructions—showered, changed, and settled down with cups of hot cocoa, coffee, or, in Jeff’s case: an  _ Irish _ coffee, the group all met up in the family room, which had been lovingly, and painstakingly, decorated by Jeff’s mother, and settled around to open presents. Gifts were exchanged, laughter was had, and joy was shared. All in all, it was a surprisingly  _ normal _ Christmas celebration.

Especially in light of Abed’s whole “stop-motion” mental breakdown thing.

The best part of the day, at least in the opinions of new parents Annie Edison and Jeff Winger, was the moment that they sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by gifts for Matthew and Martha, their hearts overflowing with love as the two infants laughed and clapped clumsily at the exorbitant amount of loud, colorful presents they’d received from their “aunts,” “uncles,” “grandpa Pierce,” (something which only Pierce called himself), and grandmother Doreen.

Indeed, the day would have been picture-perfect, was it not for the mysterious gift, wrapped in blue Chanukah wrapping paper, sitting beneath the brightly decorated tree.

“Mom? Did you get Annie  _ another _ gift?” Jeff asked with fond exasperation in his tone, as he crouched down, Martha snugly held against his chest, and picked up the present. His mother had gone a bit  _ overboard _ with trying to be inclusive of Annie’s heritage, there were just as many Chanukah decorations as there were Christmas ones.

_ I see why Annie said celebrating this time could be such an ordeal, _ Jeff thought to himself.

Doreen glanced up. “Oh, that? No dear, that’s not from me. Annie’s mother dropped it off. Said she got the address from Annie’s brother.”

The room grew still, and Jeff looked over at Annie. His Annie, who sat in the middle of the room, unmoving, their son held tightly, and yet still gingerly, in her arms, Her blue eyes wide, as she stared off into nothingness. Jeff strode over, passing Martha to Britta, who spluttered and swiftly adjusted so that she could hold the little girl correctly and safely, and he squatted down next to Annie, the beautifully wrapped gift abandoned a few feet from the tree.

“Annie?” He whispered her name. He lifted a hand and stroked her cheek with his fingers, pushing her hair away from her face and back behind her ear. “Gorgeous?”

Annie blinked and turned to look at him. “Hmm?”

“Are you okay?” Jeff asked softly.

Annie glanced around, before laughing distractedly, her big, Disney-princess typed eyes flooding with unshed tears.

“I’m fine, Jeff. I promise,” Annie tried to reassure him.

“But—” Jeff began, stopping when Annie placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

“I’m fine, Jeff,” she repeated, staring at him intently. “Let’s just get back to Christmas, hmm?”

Jeff nodded, reclaimed his daughter, then settled next to the young woman who had captured his heart, and still held it in her tiny, slender hand, even as she helped it to grow bigger every day.

_ “And what happened, then? Well, in Whoville they say – that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day.” _

Which was why, Jeffrey Tobias Winger, took the neatly wrapped gift that had been sent to his **gold** - _threaded_ partner, Annie Edison, and put it in the hall closet on the top shelf, waiting for the day when she would be ready to open it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter I PROMISE is the Dungeons & Dragons episode. Yaaaayyyyyy!!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I appreciate it. I hope you will read some of my other stories posted here on AO3.
> 
> The list of all my stories is:  
> 1) The Former Mrs Winger  
> 2) The Greendale Alpha  
> 3) His Grace, Jeffrey Winger, the Duke of Greendale, and Miss Annie Edison  
> 4) Threads: Jeff & Annie  
> 5) Don’t Take The Girl
> 
> Thank you again for reading and commenting!


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